


To Be An Adult

by blooming_Ednae



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, M/M, mentions of drinking and alcohol starting chapter 2 and every once in awhile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-07-21 23:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 30,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7409170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blooming_Ednae/pseuds/blooming_Ednae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four seemingly responsible guys in a house, three lovely ladies in a town home, and two witty siblings in the next town home over; some attending Marlind University and some on their way to (attempt) becoming responsible adults. It can't be all that bad, right?</p><p>"Oh, this can be really bad indeed."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Second Month and Counting

The chill of the room seeped its way through Sorey’s hair and in between the numerous strands, causing him to involuntarily wrap his comforter blankets even tighter than they already were. His alarm went off plenty, but it was still too early and the chill was leaving him much too cold to even think of getting ready for the day.

 

Sorey sighed and nestled even deeper within his covers, enjoying the warmth that his fleece blankets were providing him. As he was doing so, the sound of his room door creaking open was vaguely heard in his ears as he began to shut his eyes to fall into another deep slumber. It wasn’t until he heard an audible sigh and the odd feeling of a presence looming right over his head that made him wake up slightly from his falling asleep.

 

“Sorey.”

 

Sorey dare not budge. He wanted to keep on pretending to be asleep, so long as his intruder have mercy on him.

 

Luck, however, is not on his side, as said intruder deftly wove his fingers for the edge of Sorey’s blanket and yanked it off with such a force that left Sorey not only extremely cold with just his t-shirt and shorts attire, but rolling (what seemed to be, in his state of grogginess) at such a high intensity that he nearly fell over onto the cold wooden floor, if he didn’t catch himself on time.

 

Righting himself and now being face up in bed and clearly awake, Sorey found himself face to face with his intruder, amethyst eyes bearing into his green ones with a glare of annoyance. Sorey smiled sheepishly and rested his forearm across his forehead.

 

“Uh, good morning?”

 

Amethyst eyes squinted even more and he straightened up, rubbing his temples. “I do hope you aware of what today is.”

 

Sorey sat up in bed slowly. “Mm....Monday...uh...school....”

 

This time, his eyes connected once again with those eyes. He noticed the bobbing of Sorey’s head, indicating deep sleep was eminent. “Sorey, it’s near the end of the second month of school, I swear-”

 

Sorey’s eyes flew open, covers flying every which way, even hitting the individual behind his awakening. 

 

“Oh crap, oh crap, you’re right! Our meeting with Professor with Mayvin! Thanks, Mikleo, I owe you one!” At once, Sorey stood up proceeded to his drawers, but before doing so, walked over to Mikleo and gave a quick peck to him on the cheek. He then proceeded to grab dark jeans and a light colored cardigan and undress without warning. Mikleo instantly looked away; even though he’s clearly seen Sorey undress many times as kids, he couldn’t ignore the creeping heat on his face as he turned towards the door.

 

“Dude, okay yeah, warning next time. Breakfast is already ready downstairs, if Zaveid hasn’t eaten it all yet.”

 

Sorey answered with a muffled “mmph” as he pulled his shirt over his head. Mikleo proceeded toleave Sorey’s room, and sighed as he softly closed the door.

 

Mikleo sighed again once the door was closed. He softly touched the area where Sorey’s lips quickly brushed, still radiating with heat in Mikleo’s opinion. It had all started during the summer before their current school year, and while Mikleo hadn’t exactly protested against it, he couldn’t help but feel confused at Sorey’s actions since Sorey himself hasn’t even said anything of the matter. He just...kind of did it. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized it began after his birthday had passed.

 

Hmm.

 

Mikleo shrugged. Sorey was Sorey, and whether this was his way of thanking him for being such a good friend or the latter implication of something more, he figured he would eventually find out...someday. The sound of utensils clashing downstairs in the kitchen caught his attention and he proceeded to walk down the stairs.

 

“He better not have eaten everything...”

* * *

 

  
As soon as the door closed, Sorey let out a sigh of relief as he finally pulled over his shirt. Swinging his cardigan around him, he began to dress at a slower pace, contemplating the morning’s events thus far.

 

Even though he hasn’t blatantly told Mikleo about his actions, Sorey figured that he would just go with it. Mikleo hadn’t protested one bit, not since he began showing more affection after Mikleo’s birthday; it was supposed to be an indirect gift to him from Sorey, in his own way...he never did ask Mikleo if it was okay with him.

 

But since Mikleo never said a word about it (other than the occasional red face which was typical Mikleo behavior), Sorey became equally confused as well. He contemplated on stopping what he was doing; but Sorey concluded that everything he kept doing just felt so natural that he decided to not stop nor say a word. 

 

Sorey felt the heat rising on his face as he remembered waking up to Mikleo’s amethyst eyes that morning. Natural or not, he still couldn’t help but feel an intense emotion of love for his best friend.

 

There was a sudden roar of laughter downstairs followed by a cry of protest, jolting Sorey out of his thoughts. After quickly putting on his characteristic feather earrings, Sorey grabbed his bag and a couple of books and headed down stairs, hoping that Mikleo hadn’t killed Zaveid just yet.

* * *

  
“He ate all the eggs.”

 

Sorey looked at the scene before him; Mikleo had his hand rubbing his temples and Zaveid was beaming over the island counter top where all the food was placed, including a particularly clean white plate which seemed to have leftovers of what looked like scrambled egg crumbs.

 

Save for the eggs, there were still a couple slices of French toast, regular toast, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, and a plate of fruit containing sliced pineapple, melon, blueberries, and a surplus of strawberries. Jars of almond butter, regular butter, and strawberry jam were lined up neatly next to the spread of food. Nearby, steam was coming out of a pot placed on top of the stove, most likely containing fresh oatmeal.

 

Sorey grinned. Mikleo never failed at meal preparation and presentation, no matter how early it was. 

 

Walking over to the island counter top to where Mikleo was still glaring daggers into Zaveid’s soul, Sorey lightly patted Mikleo’s shoulder who turned to Sorey.

 

“It’s alright, there’s still plenty of food. Besides, Zaveid needs it for his work, anyway.”

 

Zaveid clapped his hands once and pointed directly at Sorey. “Sorey, my man, you get me. You totally get me.”

 

Mikleo tore his eyes away from Sorey and back at Zaveid. “That was _half a dozen eggs_ , Zaveid, and it’s only Monday. We only have about a dozen and a half left to last for the week and the majority of those are yours. At least spare us the decency of leaving us _one each_ to consume each day.”

 

Zaveid threw his arms up in the air and shook his head. “What can I say? A personal trainer who’s body buildin’ needs his daily dose of protein. Hey, at least I saved most of the fruits and French toast, and didn’t even touch the turkey meat! I have my own diet too, you know.”

 

Sorey glanced at the bacon and sausage. “Oh, so it’s turkey today? Not that I mind, I was just curious.”

 

Mikleo glanced at Sorey. “So long as I’m cooking, you’re all having lean meat. Pickleboar meat everyday will only give you heart problems.”

 

Zaveid scrunched up his face in disgust. “No thanks. Chicken, cows, and pickleboar meats I can do; turkey meat ain’t nothing to the real thing.”

 

Mikleo smirked. “In that case, I’ll just cook turkey meat from now on.”

 

Even at this, Sorey looked up in shock and Zaveid laughed even more. “Looks like you disappointed our meat-eater Mr. Shepherdson, Mikboy.”

 

Mikleo whirrled around to look at Sorey. “I’m joking, JOKING. Besides, you can cook whatever you want when it’s your week to cook. Since it’s mine...” Mikleo paused, “it’s my call.”

 

Sorey sighed. “I know, you’re right, Mikleo. Hey, maybe we should all try switching our diets like Dezel! It would totally make our food prep easier!”

 

Zaveid made what sounded like a gag sound, and Mikleo raised one eyebrow. “I can do that, but I don’t think you meat-eaters would survive even a day being vegetarian.”

 

Sorey sighed. Mikleo and Zaveid began to banter back and forth about the pros and cons of being vegetarian and Sorey took it as a chance to eat. He eyed the oatmeal on the stove and contemplated on eating some, but decided against it since that was Dezel’s food and there was no telling how hungry the man was when he would awaken later. He kept a mental note to save at least two pieces of French toast for him.

 

The grandfather clock suddenly began to chime. After the seventh ring, Mikleo glanced at his watch and motioned to Sorey. “We better go, Professor Mayvin is usually on time to meetings and we don’t want to be late to class on our own account.”

 

Sorey swallowed the last piece of his French toast and nodded. As he brought his finished plate to the sink, Zaveid suddenly sighed; so loudly, it even caused Mikleo to slightly jump. 

 

“Ughhhh, why she gotta do this to me...” Zaveid was looking at his phone with an expression of slight frustration.

 

Mikleo just rolled his eyes, figuring it had to do with Zaveid’s complicated personal life again. Curiously, Sorey piped up as he washed the dishes.

 

“What now?”

 

Mikleo shot a quick glance at Sorey, indicating he shouldn’t have had asked Zaveid. Too many times Mikleo fell victim to Zaveid’s long-winded storytelling and there was no telling how long this would be. Sorey merely shrugged, earning yet another sigh from Mikleo.

 

Zaveid scratched the back of his head nervously. “Can’t tell if little miss princess Edna is actually helping or wrecking my love life. I mean, just because they’re best friends, doesn’t meanI can’t not pursue her, you know?”

 

Sorey turned off the faucet and was wiping his hands as he turned to Zaveid. “Well, I mean it’s understandable. Edna is just really protective of Lailah, just like Eizen is protective of Edna. I guess she just wants the best for someone who’s her best friend.”

 

“Must run in the family...” Zaveid grumbled under his breath. “So I’m not the best for Lailah?”

 

This earned a snort from Mikleo, which Zaveid glared at.

 

Sorey beamed. “I get where Edna is coming from. If it were someone pursuing Mikleo, I’d be over protective too.”

 

Mikleo suddenly flushed red hiding his expression. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass under Zaveid’s observation who began to grin, intent of revenge on his face. He shut his phone with an emphasized smack. “Well, I’m not giving up on her! And,” he kept his eye contact with Mikleo, “you shouldn’t either.”

 

Mikleo’s eyes widened. “Don’t you DARE. I will not hesitate to throw something at you.”

 

Zaveid rolled his eyes. “Is that supposed to be a threat, Mikboy? As far as I can see, it’s pretty much in the open now.”

 

Mikleo gritted his teeth; swiftly, he grabbed a kitchen towel hanging on the rack and threw it directly at Zaveid’s face who in turn swapped it aside with no effort. He grinned even more.

 

“Hey, let me just help you out. Maybe if I just EXCLAIM HOW MUCH YOU LO-”

 

“SAY ONE MORE WORD AND I WILL KI-”

 

Suddenly, loud banging was heard from a room clear across the kitchen and living room, followed by a loud, bellowing voice. “IF YOU ALL DON’T SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW, I SWEAR-”

 

All three of them froze. After a moment’s reprieve, Sorey and Mikleo began to gather their things quickly, leaving the older man in a frantic. 

 

“Hey, hey, I am NOT driving him to-”

 

Sorey waved him off. “Dezel has class at 11, make sure to leave here by 10:00 since he likes getting to class early!”

 

Mikleo said nothing as he grabbed the car keys in the foyer and opened the front door with such a force that it hit the corresponding wall it was attached to. The sound made all three of them cringe, and suddenly, the sound of a bedroom door opening was heard not too far from the kitchen.

 

“You all better have a REAL DAMN GOOD EXPLANA-”

 

Mikleo ran out the door, with Sorey close in tow. “Morning, Dezel! Zaveid will take you to school!” and with that, closed the door quickly, leaving Zaveid to deal with the anger of their not-so-morning-person friend.

* * *

_  
Bzzt Bzzt._

 

The sound of her cellphone snapped Rose out of the newspaper she was reading. She quickly snapped open her phone, and snickered at the message. Lailah glanced at Rose from the stove as she put a cooked omelette on to a white plate. She walked to where Rose was seated at their small kitchen table and gave her the plate with a quizzical expression on her face.

 

“What is it?”

 

Rose grinned. “Looks like the boys are in for it now. Dezel’s awake.”

 

Lailah shook her head. “They woke him up again? Must be Zaveid, no doubt.”

 

Rose laughed. “He’s so loud, he could wake Marlind and Rayfalke at the same time. Should I just ask if we should pick him up on the way to school?” Rose tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I’ll save Zaveid the remorse....though he’ll have to owe me with a drink,” Rose flashed a smirk.

 

Lailah shook her head. “Oh, Rose.”

 

The sound of quick footsteps descending was heard and Lailah clapped her hands gleefully. “Oh, good! Now that Alisha is ready, she can try my new breakfast parfait recipe.”

 

Rose shot a glance at Lailah. “What?! You had a new recipe and didn’t tell me?”

 

“You always eat heavy in the morning, so I figured you’d eat the parfait I made you for dinner tonight,” Lailah said, with a thoughtful smile.

 

Rose cheered as Alisha entered the kitchen, causing her to tilt her head in confusion as she took her seat next to Rose. “What’s this commotion about?”

 

Lailah went to the fridge and came back quickly with the parfait. “All the commotion is about this!” Lailah presented a delicately made parfait. In a wide cup, there was a white parfait, swirled with strawberry pieces, blueberries, almonds, and a swirl of peanut butter to line it. The top was crushed with a power bar and granola mixed together. “Ta-Dah! My new breakfast parfait recipe!”

 

Alisha’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, this looks fantastic!” With that, she took a bite and smiled. “There’s strawberry bits in here, how delicious. Thank you so much, Lailah!”

 

Rose chuckled. “You’re gonna be rivaling Mikleo soon if you keep up the cold sweets-making going.”

 

Lailah shook her head. “He’s the one _baking_ nowadays, so it’s only fair that I do some recipe exploring myself!”

 

Alisha laughed. “Is this a challenge, I hear? I’ve yet to taste a gelato and ice cream that tops Mikleo’s.”

 

Worry spread across Lailah’s face. “That’s no fair! You’ve known him for years! I should just ask Sorey to be the judge.”

 

Rose rolled her eyes. “Sorey wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and even if he did, he’d probably pick Mikleo’s unknowingly since he’s pretty much connected with him at this point,” Rose took a bite of her omelette and pointed her fork at Alisha. “Speaking of which, any news about those two lately?”

 

Alisha glanced at Rose and shook her head. “I don’t think I’m in any position to share that kind of information.”

 

Rose stuck her tongue out. “You little liar. You were telling Lailah some juicy news the other day!”

 

Alisha was taken aback, not realizing that Rose had been listening, even though she and Lailah were talking with low voices in the living as Rose slept in her own room. 

 

Well. Supposedly slept.

 

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

 

Rose sighed loudly, clearly getting frustrated with Alisha. “Okay, I’ve technically known them for like, what, 10 years now? And Sorey is pretty much like my best friend too! You’re such a selfish princess, you know that?”

 

Lailah immediately saw where their conversation was going as soon as she noticed Alisha snap her head up to retort with a comment. She immediately put her arms up, going between the two. 

 

“Alisha, why don’t you share what you told me? I believe it’s fair in this circumstance.”

 

Alisha shook her head. “It’s Mikleo though...he specifically called me only and I feel like...I don’t know, I’m betraying him in a way.”

 

Rose rolled her eyes. “You kinda already did that after sharing with Lailah.”

 

Alisha huffed at Rose, and immediately shook her head. “You’re impossible, Rose!”

 

“And you’re a terrible liar and hypocrite.”

 

“Anyways,” Lailah interjected immediately, “Alisha, I don’t think Mikleo would mind, so long as you’re helping him. You mean no bad intent, so just share. It’s not like we go about sharing to Dezel and Zaveid in any case.”

 

Alisha shook her head and sighed. Her patience was growing thin with Rose that morning, and she finally gave in. “True that I’ve known them since we were kids, but honestly, they hardly tell me the current status of their own friendship...or relationship, should I say.”

 

Rose swallowed her food quickly. “So there IS news!”

 

Alisha choked on her parfait at the sudden reaction of Rose. “To some extent, yes, but you’re not allowed to hear all of it,” she retorted.

 

Rose waved her hand aside. “Whatever. I’ll find out some way or another. Sorey isn’t the most discreet about things.”

 

Lailah giggled. “Of course. Sorey tries to keep it low-key, but it’s obvious.”

 

Rose’s eyes widened. “Wait, so Sorey IS doing something? Why am I so late in the times here?”

 

“At this rate, probably Dezel as well.”

 

The three suddenly turned around in shock at the new voice that entered the room, only to find Edna leaning against the kitchen island counter eating the fruit that Lailah placed earlier. She popped another grape in her mouth as Lailah walked to the fridge and poured some chocolate soymilk for her.

 

“Still using the spare key, I see,” Lailah poked in amusement, as she placed the glass in front of Edna. 

 

Edna shrugged. “Why not. I get free food. And Eizen sucks at cooking and getting groceries on time for me to cook with.”

 

Rose waved wildly. “Hello? Am I seriously last to know?”

 

Edna glanced at her, voice still as monotone. “Like I said, Dezel probably doesn’t even know and he lives with them for crying out loud. If he can’t see them properly, he should’ve at least _heard_ -”

 

Lailah clapped her hands. “Okay, that’s quite enough.”  


Alisha scrunched her brows. “Wait, what do you mean by...” The spark of innocence that crossed Alisha’s face made Edna smirk and shake her head.

 

“Oh, to be a young blossom again.”

 

Rose grinned. “You just dated yourself, shorty.”

 

Edna glared back at her. “Says the one who’s my age and a year below me.”

 

“Hey, I’m not THAT old!”

 

Edna smiled. “Thanks. I know I’m young too.”

 

Lailah turned her attention to Alisha in an attempt to break the other two’s conversation. “Alisha! What did you want to tell Rose?”

 

Alisha sighed, giving in. “To update you, Rose...,” Alisha started, “All it is, is that Mikleo called me the other night to tell me what’s going on.”

 

“Wow. Meebo called someone? Must be serious,” Edna remarked, cocking her head to the side. Her phone began to vibrate, three times in a row, causing the other girls to look at her suspiciously. Edna flipped her phone open, pressed a few key strokes, and closed it without so much of changing her expression.

 

“Come again?” Rose looked at her questioningly.

 

Edna shook her head, hand in the air. “Nothing. Just dealing with a certain idiot.”

 

Lailah, who seemed to catch on to Edna’s implication, decided to change the subject right away. “So it is real?” Lailah asked Alisha, interested.

 

Alisha glanced from Lailah to Rose to Edna, only to see Rose smirking in her peripheral vision. It was Zaveid indeed, but she decided to avoid the subject and continue. Alisha shook her head. “Not quite. Sorey’s the one who initiates the small things like....” Alisha looked away nervously, flushed a little red. “...like hand brushing....and the occasional, er, kisses on the cheeks...” 

 

The way Alisha squirmed made Lailah giggle, knowing all too well that Alisha fully supported the two, but was still not quite comfortable when talking about the subject of love overall.

 

Rose laughed. “Oh damn, Sorey’s got game! But just to recap, basically...Sorey is showing initiative without even telling Mikleo what’s going on...”

 

Alisha shook her head. “Which is why this is so very confusing. Not just to me, but also for Mikleo. Which makes me a little sad, really.”

 

“Hmm....” Rose still had a thoughtful look on her face. “Does Mikleo call you often?”

 

“Mm...I’d say frequently. He usually calls if he needs advice, perspective on things, or if he’s mad at Sorey.” Alisha giggled. “Those two, honestly...Sorey only calls if he’s geeking out about something or if he needs my opinion on a history theory that he and Mikleo are arguing about.”

 

Lailah smiled. “Well it’s so good to hear that you still have a wonderful friendship with the two of them despite the distance. In fact, you seem the closest to them even though we see them nearly everyday.”

 

The sound of a cellphone began to ring, and Alisha immediately looked at hers. Her eyes grew wide and she finished her parfait at an increased speed, and thanked Lailah as soon as she could. 

 

“Sorry, guys, looks like something came up for my group project. I’ll see you guys tonight!”

 

Just as Alisha reached the front door, Rose called out. “Hold up! What time are you out of class today?”

 

Alisha glanced at Rose suspiciously. “And why should I answer that?”

 

“Ergg, just answer the damn question!”

 

Alisha shook her head. “Around 4, I believe.”

 

Rose scratched her chin in thought. “The drive from Ladylake to Marlind is about half an hour...so I’m thinking, head out to Marlind with us for a study session?”

 

She sighed and glanced at Rose. “I should’ve known. Well, I’ll text you. My group may run a little over time.”

 

Rose gave a thumbs up. “And don’t forget to update us on the situation between your two lover friends. Since he calls you a lot and all anyway.”

 

Zipping up her second boot, Alisha shook her head. “I’m sure I’ve told you enough. Go ask Sorey yourself!”

 

Rose clenched her fists. “There’s no fun in that! Gotta be discreet, it sounds like there’s a secret side to Sorey that no one knows!”

 

Alisha threaded her arm through her jacket. “There’s no harm in asking Sorey himself, Rose. You can’t keep tip toeing and asking me. In any case, I’ll see you all later!” With that, Alisha opened the door to walk to her car, a cool, crisp morning breeze blowing in as she went.

 

* * *

 

“Dezel didn’t seem very happy when we left, huh?”

 

Mikleo walked at a fast pace with Sorey close in tow. Mikleo rolled his eyes, unfortunately not denying Sorey’s comment.

 

“That was evident enough. Let’s hope Rose can calm him down somewhat. I do _not_ want to start a week off with tension in the household.”

 

“Ah, well.” Sorey scratched the back of his head, and decided to shrug off the subject, focusing solely on keeping up with Mikleo’s fast walking pace down the hallway.

 

Storyteller’s Hall was a majestic building in architectural structure, with carved, wooden arches spanning the ceiling. Intricate and detailed carvings of foliage lined each arch giving an odd sense of serenity and peace over the whole hall. Natural sunlight filtered in through windows that lined walls just below the ceiling line and another set of lined windows at eye level, giving an enormous amount of light to fill up the hall. The numerous amount of windows allowed students within the building to roam the building halls while enjoying the view that overlooked Downtown Marlind.

 

The university itself was large in size. It was split into two large sections, connected by a tree-lined road leading uphill. The first half was seated right next to the hustle and bustle of the Marlind. Half of this campus was dedicated to business, communications, math, and science-related majors and the school deemed it fit to be right next to the city as the majority of this campus consisted of business students who sought experience in negotiation and management with the city from time to time for class assignments. The cafeteria, student quadrant, and gym is located within this area, leaving plenty of room for both areas of campus’ students to mix and mingle, much to Rose’s pleasure.

 

The second half of the university was a little smaller in size. It was well within walking distance from the other campus, about a two minute walk up to be exact. This half of the campus specialized in history, art, and music and was surrounded by more foliage. Though still close to the other campus, it was considerably more quiet than the other campus, leaving the students the ability to be able to concentrate and focus more. The library, auditorium, and another student quadrant is located within this area; unfortunately, the research lab that Mikleo and Sorey work in during lab hours is located down the hill, much to Mikleo’s distaste.

 

Mikleo glanced down the hill towards the other campus. “We should probably finish analyzing that object that the professor gave us last week. After our eight to ten class would probably suffice,” Mikleo suggested as he slowly stopped in front of a large door.

 

Sorey nodded, reaching out for the door knob and twisting it open. “Yeah, and I’m sure Lailah would appreciate if we all ate lunch together again anyway.”

 

“Oh ho, morning, boys!”

 

The loud booming voice took Mikleo back a bit. He regained composure as soon as Sorey raised his hand in greeting.

 

“Morning, Professor Mayvin! How are you?”

 

Mayvin shut the book he was reading and placed it back to its spot on the shelf and took a seat as he laughed. “Just as ready to leave as you are already talking about lunch.”

 

Sorey scratched the back of his head. “Well it is Monday.”

 

Mayvin heaved another roar of laughter and sat behind his desk, decorated with small artifacts from what both Sorey and Mikleo assume were from his own excavations, when they first entered his office many years before. The two sat at the designated chairs placed in front of the desk as Mayvin began to shuffle papers around the desk and placed it before them.

 

Scratching his chin, Mayvin eyed the two. “You two are...third years now, right? Feels like yesterday when you guys were small first year college students, so unaware of the what the world had in store for you.” He flashed them a grin which Sorey did in return.

 

“Yeah. Guess time really does fly.”

 

“But, while reminiscence is a great part of history,” Mayvin continued, “that’s obviously not the reason why we’re meeting today.” He pointed at the two presented stacks, one each for Sorey and Mikleo.

 

Mikleo took the stack and flipped through the pages. “Is this our yearly project?”

 

Mayvin nodded. “As you know, each year, you’re paired with someone who has a different major emphasis than you. Your first year required you to choose one historical object of your liking and research every detail about it. Sorey, your major is emphasis on the ‘how’; how it was created, how it came to be, and how it became located into its location of discovery. Mikleo, your major is emphasis in analysis; the why it was created, why it came to be, and why it ended up where it was discovered. Together, your two majors crossover a lot, but still have a fine line of emphasis, and that whole first project was to understand how your two emphases are needed when on a research team later in the workforce. Your second year required both of you to research on the environment as a whole. You chose a specific city and delved into its origin and purpose, and created a massive timeline up until the present day. If you noticed,” Mayvin paused, writing a few notes down and showing it to both Sorey and Mikleo, “you have looked at the object and environment of certain aspects of history. Now,” Mayvin circled a word on the note sheet he presented to them, “it’s now time for both of you to look at the most crucial part - the _people_ involved.”

 

Mikleo leaned back in his chair, hand on his chin in thought. “So basically, our yearly projects have been centering on the important aspects that make up history - object, environment, and person? And I’m assuming on our fourth year, we have to combine all three into a collaborative research project analysis on how that is based on our findings per year?”

 

With a snap of his fingers, Mayvin nodded and grinned. “You’re right on the point, Mikleo. Your final year, you will be presenting your findings from your first three years’ projects and explain how each component creates the importance of history. Even though each year has different context and results, you will be combining all of it together and explaining how they all correlate in a metaphorical sense to the aspect of history altogether; and how your guys’ jobs are important in collecting such information.”

 

Sorey raised an eyebrow, trying to process all of the information. “Um, before we even go to that final project, can I first understand this year’s project?”

 

“Sorry,” Mikleo responded quickly, realizing how fast he switched topics. Sorey shook his head.

 

“It’s fine! The Monday morning is just talking, that’s all.”

 

Mayvin chuckled. “Right you are, Sorey. In any case, this is your project for this year.” Mayvin pulled out a stack of papers each for the both of them and began to explain as they flipped through the pages. 

 

“You will interview three different individuals - someone in your age range, someone who is middle aged such as a parent, and someone who is well over sixty to seventy years old. You will analyze and comprehend their life stories and advices through verbal interviews and transcriptions and decode each one to find common themes that are found within each generation.”

 

“By when do we have to let you know the individuals we are interviewing?” Mikleo asked, already planning a mental timeline of their schedule for that year.

 

Mayvin grinned. “That’s where the challenge lies. This year is free reigns. You’re on your own when it comes to choosing, scheduling the interviews, and finding the common themes. The real challenge, however, is creating your questions for the interview in order to generate the correct information you want for your analysis in the end.”

 

Mikleo sighed. “Will you at least be giving us guidance?”

 

“Oh, no worry there,” Mayvin continued. “I will be here to guide you and give tips when you guys are completely stuck or if I feel you’re a little behind on where you should be according to the year.”

 

Sorey stacked the papers neatly on his lap and whistled lowly. “This is gonna be interesting.”

 

“And a lot of work,” Mikleo added. “We better come up with a confirmed list of people we want to interview for this assignment by tonight, Sorey.”

 

Sorey waved his hand. “Yeah, yeah.”

 

Mayvin chuckled, knowing all too well the interesting yet compatible work dynamic of the two. “I’m not worried about you two at all, to be honest,” Mayvin admitted. “I trust you two will do very well!” Mayvin began to stand from his desk, signaling the end of their meeting. 

 

Sorey and Mikleo also stood from their chairs and gathered their belongings. “We’ll be sure to not disappoint you, Professor.”

 

“I’m sure you won’t,” Mayvin commented, walking them out to his office door. “Email me if you have any questions. Have a good Monday, guys, and Sorey,” Mayvin called out to Sorey, who was mid way exiting the office, “Don’t fall asleep in class. Don’t think I don’t have eyes in the lecture halls.”

 

Sorey laughed nervously. “I’ll give it my best, sir.”

 

Mayvin laughed. “As long as you know what you’re doing,” and with that, Mayvin closed his office door on both of them softly.

 

Sorey began to walk forward towards their morning class until he felt a light slap on the top back part of his head.

 

“Hey! What was that for?” Sorey asked, looking behind him at Mikleo who was holding a notebook in one hand. Mikleo continued to walk forward with Sorey following him closely behind, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

 

“I told you the department would call you out for sleeping in class. Sleep earlier tonight, would you?”

 

Sorey sighed. “If we finish getting those names down, sure.”

 

Mikleo nodded. “Good. We’ll start right after class today.”

 

Sorey choked. “Oh come on, give me a small break!”

 

Mikleo slowed his pace as they were right at the entrance of their lecture hall, hand on the door knob. With a smirk, he turned to Sorey.

 

“No. Any more comments?”

 

Sorey just hunched his shoulders. “Whatever, Mikleo.”

* * *

 

“Man, but you really just gotta let up sometimes!”

 

Rose popped another grape in her mouth while observing Dezel carefully, who was still ranting to her about that morning’s events. They were currently waiting at a lunch table in the student quadrant with Rose sitting on the table and Dezel on the bench, arms crossed. He took off his hat and smoothed his hair, sighing while doing so. 

 

“Yeah, but I _could’ve_ slept in until 9 am. That’s _two full hours,_ Rose, and don’t you dare tell me to wake up early because I sure know as hell you don’t.”

 

Rose laughed. “You’re right.” Sighing, she leaned back with her palms against the table and stared up to the sky. “But honestly, was it really that bad?”

 

Dezel placed his hat on his head and muttered what sounded like a low growl. “Zaveid and Mikleo _really_ need to tone it down sometimes. The topic was pointless.”

 

At this, Rose raised an eyebrow and turned to Dezel, suddenly interested. “What were they talking about?”

 

If Rose could see Dezel’s eyes, he’d definitely rolled them, but in this case, she mentally took note instead. “Something about Zaveid making Mikleo’s secret out in the open. I could care less; Zaveid should just let them do whatever at their own pace.”

 

Rose just laughed. “So even YOU caught on by now?”

 

Dezel snorted. “I _live_ with them all, for crying out loud.” A little quieter, he added on. “I’m not opposed to it all. Though one of them should probably tell the other sooner than later...”

 

Rose picked up on the sudden silence and looked at Dezel, who, if he had sight, would have more than likely gazing at her. She smiled, and lightly punched Dezel in the shoulder.  


“Hey. We’re at where we are now because of him. Lefarga wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

 

Slowly, Dezel felt out for the hand that made contact with his shoulder, and lightly placed his own on top of it. When he felt her fingers intertwine with his, he knew no other response was needed. 

 

“Where is everyone?” Rose suddenly broke the silence and looked around. “Didn’t Lailah say she wanted lunch with everyone today since Sorey and Mikleo are down in this area for once?”

 

As if on cue, a higher voice was heard from behind them. “We’re heerreee. ~” 

 

Rose turned to see Lailah walking up wth a radiant smile, Edna close in tow. She slowly untangled her fingers from Dezel’s as the two approached and Dezel did his best to not show what slight disappointment he had. It wasn’t unnoticed by Rose, however, who began to snicker as she noticed Dezel’s expression change.

 

“Shut up,” Dezel responded, quickly crossing his arms and looking the other way. Rose could only smile as she redirected her attention to the other two coming. Lailah was shaking her head as they approached the table. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” she started, apologetically. “Class ran a bit over time this time around.”

 

The sound of a parasol was heard as Edna placed it on her shoulder. She shook her head and lifted her free hand up. 

 

“You shouldn’t be saying sorry since princess Meebo isn’t even here yet.”

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

 

Mikleo suddenly appeared behind Edna with Sorey trailing behind. Almost immediately, she closed her parasol and hit Mikleo on the head, who began to rub it.

 

“What the hell was that for?!”

 

Sorey could only snicker. “I think you scared her, Mikleo.”

 

At that, Sorey received a jab from her parasol, to which Mikleo felt somewhat relieved he wasn’t the only one receiving the blows.

 

“That’s for being late. Both of you.” She responded cooly, not bothering to open her parasol again.

 

Mikleo rolled his eyes. “You’re one to talk!”

 

Lailah noticed where the conversation was headed, and clapped her hands in an attempt to calm them down. “Now, now! Let’s continue this over lunch, shall we? My rice isn’t going to exactly fill me up without my assistance.”

 

With that, the group settled around the table that Rose had chosen, all of them with lunches brought from home. Rose opened her sandwich bag, which was half eaten already, and proceeded to talk.

 

“So what brings you two down to this lovely side of campus?” Rose pointed at Sorey and Mikleo, which Sorey was busy scarfing down his curry and rice lunch.

 

Mikleo patted his mouth politely, noticing that Sorey wasn’t going to speak any time soon. “We have to finish analyzing an object in the lab today.”

 

“Hm...is that any fun?” Rose finished the rest of her sandwich with a satisfied smirk and swallowed whole heartedly. Dezel passed her his water bottle, already knowing too well that Rose more than likely forgot hers. 

 

“Oh, thanks Dezel! Totally forgot mine.”

 

Dezel just huffed in reply, staying silent. Lailah merely chuckled and smiled, enjoying the small interaction between the two, which didn’t go unnoticed by Dezel who merely glared. Lailah laughed more and brought the subject back at hand.

 

“So anyway, about your lab analysis...” Lailah continued, taking a bite out of her rice ball, “You two are always so in-depth about your work.”

 

At this, Sorey finally answered, swallowing almost the last part of his lunch. “Well, we are partners for our major.”

 

The word “partners” earned a snort from Edna who mumbled under her breath, “Well that was an understatement”, followed by a side jab by Lailah. 

 

“Partners, you say?” Lailah brightened up, attempting to cover up the jab she poked into Edna, who smirked, knowing that her comment was extremely appropriate in a time such as this.

 

Mikleo nodded, not noticing Edna’s remarks. “Our major is split between those who major with an emphasis on archaeology and those who major in analysis and interpretation. Ultimately,” Mikleo took a small bite out of his croissant sandwich, “archaeology majors still have analysis to a certain extent. However, they focus more on how to restore, how to excavate, where to excavate, and how things came to be. Analysis and interpretation looks at the “why” in the items; we don’t do as much physical work as archaeologists, but we do a good amount of observation and interpreting certain things to those who excavate.”

 

“So in our major,” Sorey chipped in suddenly, “I’m the one with archaeology and Mikleo does a lot of papers and stuff analyzing certain things. In the end, I need help with interpreting certain items and Mikleo needs material to analyze, which is my part in finding the items. We’re designated to partners in our major, one from each emphasis. We can switch between partners, but it’s typical for partners to stick together until the end because we always have this huge project that’s shared anyway.”

 

Rose sighed. “Gosh, sounds like you guys need to lighten up a bit and just ease up on studying, to be honest.” 

 

Dezel huffed. “You’re one to talk.”

 

Rose smacked him on the shoulder. “Hey! I’m getting plenty done!”

 

Dezel finished the rest of his lunch and shook his head. “I’m sure that nine page paper is going along nicely, I bet.”

 

Lailah only shook her head. “Oh Rose, I reminded you last week about it too.”

 

Rose scratched her head in frustration. “I know, I know! It’s just this isn’t my strongest subject, ya know? Maybe I should just pay Dezel to do it for me...”

 

Dezel snapped his head up and gritted his teeth. “Not a _chance_. Just because I’m majoring in English, doesn’t mean you can take advantage. Mind your own damn responsibility.”

 

Rose groaned. “That’s real nice of you, thanks.” She shook her head when she suddenly lit up. “Oh guys! Are you all up for a study session tonight? And Alisha is gonna join us too.”

 

Sorey nodded. “For sure! She texted me earlier this morning. I haven’t seen in her in like...a week now, so it’s been awhile.”

 

Mikleo shook his head. “That is if we get our analysis done this afternoon.”

 

Sorey waved him off. “It’ll be done, trust me.”

 

Lailah clapped her hands in excitement, eyes brightening. “So a five o’clock study session then? It’s been awhile since we’ve been together.”

 

Edna, who’d been quiet since Lailah jabbed her, rolled her eyes. “I’m so excited. Yay.”

 

“You’re not performing tonight, Edna?” Sorey tilted his head as he asked.

 

Edna shrugged. “Eizen keeps the place closed on Sundays and Mondays, so no.”

 

“Alright, so it’s settled!” Lailah’s eyes gleamed. “Let’s go about our day with ease!”

* * *

 

_Bzzt bzzt._

 

Alisha sighed as she placed her car into park in the guest parking of Marlind University’s library, and turned off the ignition before picking up her phone. Traffic from Ladylake to Marlind was not an easy one since everyone was commuting out of the big city into their respective homes. What should have been a half hour drive turned into a one hour drive, leaving Alisha exhausted. Upon opening her phone, however, she lit up and smiled. It was a message from Lailah, and just as energetic and kind as she would have imagined.

 

_‘Room 321, the one that has a window that overlooks the campus. And hope you brought your appetite! Sorey bought too many pizzas. Hurry before Mikleo takes Sorey’s wallet away after all this scolding he’s doing to him currently ~’_

 

Chuckling, Alisha threw her phone into her shoulder bag and picked up the remainder books by hand. She realized that she hadn’t seem them in awhile and looked forward to seeing the two’s faces again.Of course, that is if she makes it before one destroys the other, she thought mentally. Shaking her head, she locked her car and continued towards the direction of the library’s direction.

 

* * *

 

“Alisha!”  


At the sound of Lailah’s greeting, Mikleo stopped telling Sorey the importance of saving and wasting money and both snapped their heads up upon Alisha’s entrance. Alisha shifted her shoulder bag and waved.

 

“Hello, everyone. Good to see you all again.”

 

Sorey immediately stood and walked to Alisha, giving her a generous hug as soon as he approached her. 

 

“Good to see you all again? What kind of greeting is that towards your childhood friends?”

 

Alisha laughed and pulled away before smiling at him. “And it’s good to see you too, Sorey, Mikleo”, she nodded to Mikleo who began to approach her as well. Mikleo gave her a quick side hug before returning to his seat. The room was decent sized, almost resembling a conference room with one large, oval-shaped table, a white board on one wall, and a TV on the opposite wall. Everyone took respective seats around the table and Alisha took the empty seat that was in between Lailah and Rose.

 

Rose coughed when Alisha sat down. “Took you long enough. Did Sergei distract you that much?”

 

At this, Alisha whirled around towards Rose, face flushed red and embarrassed. “Rose, SHUT UP!”

 

Almost immediately, Sorey and Mikleo stood from their seats and almost yelled in unison. “Who’s Sergei?!”

 

Alisha immediately put her hands up, not before giving a quick whack on the head for Rose, which Rose began to rub where Alisha’s hand was. 

 

“No one, no one!” Alisha played it off. “Honestly, it’s no one!”

 

At this, Edna spoke from her end of the table, taking off her Normin headphones as she did so. “Sit down, I didn’t come here to babysit a bunch of animals. And I’m talking about you, Meebo.”

 

Mikleo immediately turned towards Edna. “What?! I’m not the only one-”

 

“Shut. It. Meebo. And I mean it.” Edna placed her headphones on her head, continuing to study. 

 

Sorey calmly touched Mikleo’s shoulder and chuckled. “Just let it go, I heard she has a test at the end of the week.”

 

Mikleo rolled his eyes as he sat. “Then why is she here? She could go home.”

 

“Cause Eizen is gonna stop by later to give me something anyway, so he’s just gonna pick Edna up while he’s at it,” Zaveid commented. “And it’s not like she can go home anyway; Rose and Lailah took her this morning.”

 

Mikleo glanced at him. “You don’t even need to be here.”

 

Zaveid raised his arms and shook his head. “Hey, I always got stuff to do. See? I got my laptop right here.”

 

Mikleo only shook his head. “I’m not even going to ask.”

 

He suddenly felt a vibration from his phone in his pocket and flipping it open, he raised his eyebrow as he realized that it was from Alisha.

 

_Look, I’ll tell you guys about Sergei later, okay? I don’t want everyone to know._

 

Without so much glancing in her direction, he replied with a stoic expression.

 

_Got it. Just surprised both of us is all._

 

Alisha immediately looked at her phone and she smiled.

 

_As if you two aren’t a surprise to me, right? I think it’s only fair that I tell you guys about Sergei since you did tell me something was going on between you two...right? ( :_

 

Mikleo frowned as he saw the text, flushing slightly red.

 

_Go study!_

 

Alisha grinned but didn’t reply as she pulled out her books and began to study. It was a surprisingly quiet three hours as the whole group studied together with the occasional conversation between Sorey and Mikleo as they studied some of their subjects. The bass from Edna’s headphones became background noise to mostly everyone. Lailah typed away furiously, making charts and timelines of different lesson plans she had to create; Rose was periodically looking off to the distance and typed a few paragraphs for her paper sporadically; Dezel had headphones on as he listened to the book he had a report to do on by the end of the week; and Alisha intently read numerous articles based on her project for her classes. Zaveid was strangely quiet; he surprisingly had no headphones on and whatever he was reading clearly had his attention since he barely spoke a word or even looked up from his laptop. Instead, he typed every now and then and stared at his laptop; the stoic expression on his face was uncharacteristic of him. Mikleo began to notice the strange behavior and it only confirmed it even more when he noticed Edna, who was seated next to Zaveid, look up from her numerous notes, glanced at Zaveid’s laptop, and slightly grinned before returning to her notes, without Zaveid even noticing her actions at all. Mikleo merely squinted at the two, who didn’t notice his staring, and stared back at his own notes before anyone else could say a thing.

 

Nearing the end of the study session, Mikleo placed his pen down and turned towards Sorey.“So I’ve been thinking for our interviews....”

 

Sorey turned to Mikleo, deep in thought. “I was thinking that we could ask Gramps for our older population.”

 

Mikleo nodded. “Do you think we could ask your mom for an interview?”

 

After typing a few notes on his laptop, Sorey scrunched his face and shook his head. “Don’t you think that’s a little bias? I mean, she _is_ my mom.” 

 

Mikleo sighed. “You’re right. Well...”

 

Sorey opened his mouth to speak, but immediately closed it, shaking his head free of the thought. It didn’t go unnoticed by Mikleo, however, who eyed him suspiciously.

 

“What is it?”

 

Sorey chuckled nervously. “Well...I was just um...maybe thinking about your uncle...”

 

At this, Mikleo squinted his eyes at Sorey, fist automatically clenching on the table. He felt tension well up in him, resisting the urge to yell with all his might. “You know that is _out of the question._ ”

 

Sorey raised his arms up, in defense. “Yeah, that’s why I dropped the idea right away! It’s fine, it was just an idea since we need individuals that we uh, kind of know, but not really...?” Sorey relaxed, after awhile. “I’m sorry.”

 

Mikleo unclenched his fist, and took deep breaths before responding. He knew Sorey meant well; it was always in good intentions. It was hard, though, to tell Sorey what drew the line...

 

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have lost my control.”

 

A silence loomed over the both of them as none spoke for awhile. Sorey waited until Mikleo was ready to speak again; it wasn’t uncharacteristic of Mikleo to get worked up over the mention of his uncle, and Sorey knew he shouldn’t have mentioned it. Nevertheless, he did, only to realize again that he probably shouldn’t have. Sorey scratched the back of his head nervously as the silence between the both of them started to become overwhelming, until Mikleo spoke.

 

“What if we asked Maltran?”

 

Sorey perked up, eyebrows raising in interest. “That’s actually doesn’t sound too bad. We’d have to ask Alisha when she’s free, then.”

 

Mikleo leaned back in his chair, hand on chin as he spoke. “More than likely the weekend, I’d bet. Maltran is always busy and we’d probably won’t be able to get a meeting with her unless Alisha was with us.”

 

“Hm...” Sorey rested his hand on his chin. “You’re right. Let’s ask Alisha later. She seems...really deep into her study mode right now.”

 

At this, Mikleo raised his head to look at Alisha who was sitting across the table from them, headphones plugged in and furiously typing away at her laptop. Alisha’s eyes were glazed over, full of concentration, and Sorey and Mikleo both knew it wouldn’t be a good time to speak with her while she was concentrated. 

 

Mikleo nodded in agreement. “That’d probably be best. I think she has a huge group project that’s due soon so she has a lot on her plate right now.” He leaned forward towards the table and clicking his pen, he began to write the names of the individuals. “So we have Gramps and Maltran...we need someone who is around our age to interview too.”

 

Sorey slowly turned his eyes to Zaveid, who was completely engrossed in whatever was on his laptop to even notice his eyes. Mikleo’s eyes on the other hand widened and he shook his head.

 

“Are you crazy? We live with him already!”

 

Sorey chuckled. “But don’t you think an interview with him would be really fun? And plus...I feel like there’s more to Zaveid than we know, you know?” Sorey turned towards Mikleo who gave Sorey a deadpan stare in return. “Sure we live with him; but, I think the whole point of this project is not only for analysis, but also a chance for us to connect with the people we take for granted in our lives.”

 

Mikleo’s expression remained unchanged, but his gut began to churn with Sorey’s words because they were so true. He started to see the reason why Sorey mentioned his uncle earlier...

 

Mikleo could only shake his head as he turned back to the paper. “If this interview goes wrong....” he penned in Zaveid’s name as one of the three individuals, to Sorey’s surprise and excitement. Sorey smiled. 

 

“If it all goes wrong, we could always ask Eizen.”

 

Mikleo clicked his pen shut and nodded. “That’s a possibility too. But...let’s just go with what we have for now. Thanks for the insight, by the way.”

 

Sorey tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

 

Mikleo smirked at Sorey’s actions. The purity of his best friend was something he could never wrap his head around, but he loved it all the same. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

 

As soon as Sorey opened his mouth to respond, Edna’s phone began to ring suddenly across the room, distracting Sorey and giving Mikleo the chance to return to his notes. Edna placed her headphones (still beating with a song with deep bass) on to the table as she whipped out her phone and answered dully.

 

“Yeah. We’re in the study room on the second floor.”

 

Without a second’s notice, there was a knock on the study room door. Mikleo, who was the closest to the door, stood up to open it, only to reveal the sullen face of Edna’s older brother.

 

“Oh, hey, Eizen.”

 

Eizen only nodded in acknowledgement. “Mikleo.” He let himself in and it was at this moment that Zaveid finally looked up from his laptop and grinned widely. 

 

“Eizen, my man! How you been? Where’s the thing-”

 

Eizen rolled his eyes. “Any louder, dumbass, and the whole library is gonna fall to pieces. Here.”

 

Lailah, who was watching the whole ordeal unfold in front of her, held back a chuckle as Eizen shoved a huge satchel on to Zaveid’s lap. Zaveid just laughed and stood up to give Eizen a quick hand gesture before offering a seat on the opposite side of him. “Good to see you too.”

 

Eizen sat on the chair and glanced at Edna who immediately shook her head. “I’m not finished.”

 

Eizen shrugged. “I figured as much. Whenever you are.”

 

Edna didn’t say another word as she looked at her notes once more with intense focus. Eizenreached in his bag once more and pulled out a book, turning towards the intended recipient.

 

“Sorey.” Eizen slid the book across the table where Sorey sat, and Sorey’s eyes lit up as he received the book. 

 

“Oh, awesome! Didn’t know you brought it today! Oh, shoot, I forgot the other book you let met borrow-”

 

Eizen raised one hand up. “It’s fine. I figured Mikleo was going to read it too.”

 

Mikleo glanced at Sorey, then the book. Amethyst eyes lit up as he stared at the book. “You have the second volume of _Lohgrin’s Tower_ and you didn’t even tell me you’ve had the first one borrowed this whole time?!”

 

Sorey scratched the back of his head. “Ah, well...time flies...”

 

Eizen just shook his head and opened his mouth to speak again until his phone began to ring. Pulling it out of his pocket, he gave one glance before putting it on silent and placing it on the table. 

 

“It’s fine. I know you guys are careful with these things, so I don’t really care how long you need to-”

 

His phone stopped suddenly and began to ring once again. With annoyance, he sighed and silenced his phone again, leaving it on the table for it to ring and hopefully go straight to his voicemail.

 

Mikleo shook his head. “Sorry, I think I have one of your other books too. I think it’s _Art of Pendrago._ ” Sorey eyed him and shook his head. “And you said _I_ was holding back books.”

 

“You’re never interested in art!”

 

“Says who?!”

 

Eizen merely waved it off and for the third time, his phone began to ring. As Sorey and Mikleo began to argue about different preferences of art styles, Eizen silenced his phone without so much glancing at it. This time, Zaveid leaned over and glanced at his phone and grinned. 

 

“It’s Magilou.”

 

Eizen sighed loudly. “I know that, _dammit._ ”

 

Zaveid shook his head. “Just answer it. You know she’s not gonna stop.”

 

Eizen growled before finally flipping his phone open. “If this isn’t important-”

 

He was cut off by a piercing laugh, followed by a lot of talking. More talking ensued, and he could only shake his head. “Look, why don’t you call Velvet first instead of-”

 

Eizen could only sigh loudly and stand up as he was cut off mid-sentence again, finally resorting to exiting the room with a slouched walk. As soon as the door closed, Mikleo could only glance at Zaveid who was grinning widely. 

 

“How are they even friends?” Mikleo had only met Magilou once during a time when she and Eizen’s other friends (Mikleo assumed) were staying at his place for a week that past summer. He got the vibe that they were complete opposites and it puzzled him how even Eizen is able to withstand someone such as her. Zaveid could only chuckled and nodded at Edna.

 

“Story of you and Edna’s friendship, in a nutshell.”

 

Mikleo’s eyebrow twitched and even Edna, through her loud bass of her headphones, stomped Zaveid’s foot so hard it caused him to yelp and hit his knee up against the table. This jolted everyone else from their studies as everyone felt the vibration and all looked at Zaveid. Lailah could only sigh and shake her head, looking at her watch while doing so.

 

“It is already ten...perhaps we should call it a night? Some of us still have to drive home and get ready for tomorrow.”

 

Rose, who was so uncharacteristically quiet for the past few hours, stretched in her chair and sighed loudly, agreeing in contentment. “Sounds good to me! I’m beat.”

 

Zaveid clapped his hands and immediately got up. “What do you all say about getting some ice cream, ey? Marlind creamery always has their special deals on Mondays...”

 

Mikleo’s eye twitched. “Zaveid, unlike you, some of us have things to do tomorrow-”

 

“LET’S GO!” Rose and Sorey yelled simultaneously, almost knocking Mikleo out of his chair. His eyebrows furrowed and he glanced over at Lailah, hoping to receive some kind of agreement that they should all go home. 

 

She was just as excited.

 

So much for that.

 

Mikleo sighed. “Really? Honestly, Sorey, I think we should just go-”

 

Sorey immediately took the car keys from Mikleo’s bag, and, ignoring Mikleo’s cries of protest, grinned and held it up out of reach of Mikleo. Mikleo could only yell in frustration as Sorey held the keys tightly and quickly threw it to Rose, who was on the other side of the room already anticipating the catch. Mikleo gritted his teeth and whirled around to Sorey.

 

“You did that on purpose! You know I can’t reach that high!”

 

Sorey could only grin. “What, finally admitting to your height now, are we?”

 

Rose snickered across the room as she tossed the keys back to Sorey who caught it with ease. Mikleo made a jab to retrieve the keys once more, only for Sorey to smoothly place it out of his reach once more. Mikleo could only glare at his best friend, followed by a chuckle from Sorey. Mikleo’s frustrated expression, glaring amethyst eyes...

 

Sorey concluded that teasing Mikleo was something he very much enjoyed.

 

The teasing glance was not missed by Alisha who watched the whole commotion from across the room. Alisha could only smile, knowing all too well that there was indeed something going on between her two friends; she only need to wait until one of them opened up to her about their situation. Lailah immediately noticed Alisha’s smile and, with a sing-song voice, she walked away with teasing remarks towards Alisha.

 

“Wish something like that happened to you, dear Alisha?”

 

Alisha flushed red immediately and she curled her hands into balled fists. “Not you too, Lailah!”

 

Lailah could only laugh and as she reached Rose’s side, Rose gave her a thumbs up, along with a “Good job, Lailah!”. As the walked out of the room, Alisha walked up to the both of them with a sulking face. Lailah giggled as she wrapped her arm around Alisha into an endearing side hug, trying to reassure her.

 

At this point, Eizen returned from his phone call and waited at the door as the others filed out. Looking over the crowd though, he noticed Edna was behind Sorey and Mikleo, finding it difficult to move around them. Without changing her expression, Edna jabbed her umbrella into Mikleo’s side, causing him to help with surprise.

 

“Move it along, Shortleo, some of us actually want ice cream.” Feeling her jab, Mikleo immediately remarked with a comment. Dezel was directly in front of Mikleo and with a tip of his hat, he sighed.

 

“You two. Can’t we just get ice cream in peace?”

 

“No.” They both replied in unison, each glaring at each other as they exited the study room. He shook his head.

 

“Children, the both of you.”

 

Edna huffed and raised her arm in the air. “Whatever. Just go find your flower.”

 

At this, Dezel gritted his teeth in annoyance. “I was _not_ trying to find her! I’m perfectly fine!”

 

Zaveid could only roar in laughter at seeing everyone’s interaction. “Alright, alright! Let’s head on over to Marlind Creamery! I’m so freaking stoked for this, like guys, I’ve been waiting all week-”

 

“Oh just shut _up_ already,” Eizen remarked, walking ahead of the group with Edna close in tow. Zaveid just shook his head.

 

Mikleo came up from behind Zaveid and coughed. “You know, I _could_ make ice cream for you guys instead back at the house...”

 

Zaveid immediately wrapped his arm around Mikleo’s neck and grinned. “Where’s the adventure in that, Mikboy? We gotta be together, you know, as a family!”

 

Mikleo stiffened and Edna snorted as she saw Mikleo’s expression. “Some less than others, I’d expect.”

 

“Do you _always_ have a comment for everything?!” Mikleo yelled, causing him to be shushed by the front desk worker as they approached the first floor. Edna snickered and Sorey merely patted his shoulder, laughing quietly as he did so. 

 

“It’s okay, Mikleo, we gotta pick on someone from time to time.”

 

Mikleo rolled his eyes. “More like _every time._ And you,” he said, pointing to Zaveid, “no ice cream for you next time I make any at home.”

 

Zaveid turned around, look of hurt across his face. “What?! But I thought I was your greatest accomplice, your best friend-”

 

“Here we go again,” Eizen mumbled, fishing out his keys. Now that they had finally reached the outside, Zaveid was back to yelling, causing Eizen to roll his eyes.

 

Mikleo crossed his arms and glanced at Zaveid. “And here we were, thinking you were the adult.”

 

Zaveid lifted his arms in the air. “Oh come on, we ARE adults! Four dudes being independent at home, the three lovely ladies living in their own town home, and those two bitter siblings somehow making it on their own in another town home! We’re not all that shabby, if I say so myself. And besides, I think us four make a great combination! Not too bad, right?”

 

Mikleo quirked his eyebrow up in suspicion. “Oh, this can be really bad indeed.”

 

Sorey chuckled and patted Mikleo on the back, who turned towards him. “But we’ve all been alright so far, right? And that’s all that matters!”

 

Before Mikleo could respond, he was cut off by a loud yell, which almost caused him to jump. “Can we just get in our cars and go, please? It’s only open until 10:30!” Rose exclaimed, already standing near her car with Alisha and Lailah. Mikleo dropped the subject as he eyed Sorey who handed him the car keys, and he immediately walked in the direction of his car without taking the keys.

 

“You’re driving since you took my keys,” Mikleo glared. Sorey only laughed nervously and proceeded to open the door of the driver’s side. “You know we only meant joking with you in good nature-”

 

Mikleo put his hand up. “Not now. Let’s talk about at home.”

 

Alisha caught this last statement and almost laughed, but Rose beat her to the punch line. “Oh AT HOME, huh? What are you guys gonna talk about then?” Covering her mouth, she chuckled as Mikleo sputtered and Sorey looked at her in wonder, not understanding her reference. Dezel, who stood next to her, could only choke and inwardly cringe at Rose’s implication. He immediately nudged her and she stuck her tongue out.

 

“What?! I was only asking!”

 

Dezel sighed. “Whatever, I’m going with you. You’re driving, right? There’s no way in hell I’m riding with Zaveid.”

 

Rose smiled. “What, does the wind need a bit of rose petals in his life?” Dezel choked at this.

 

“I LIVE with that asshole everyday, that’s justification ENOUGH for me to be in another car!”

 

“Uh huh, sure sure, I’ll buy that.” Rose unlocked the car and loaded her bag in before calling to the others.

 

“Hey! So Dezel is in my car,Lailah is with Alisha, Edna is with Eizen, Mikleo is with Sorey, and Zaveid is single as always, am I right?”

 

The others murmured an affirmative confirmation, ignoring Zaveid’s outcry of “I haven’t been single _all my life_ ”. Rose nodded and raised her arm up. “Last one to the place has to treat everyone!” She immediately closed her door with everyone else in tow, and even with the windows up, her yell of “Let’s bounce!” could be heard. Dezel shook his head as she backed her car out with lightning speed, Eizen’s motorcycle right in tow with Edna holding on to him, and Zaveid still fumbling to open his car up. 

 

Mikleo could only chuckle at the sight and he sat in the passenger side of his car as Sorey took the driver’s side. Sorey lightly jabbed Mikleo’s side, causing Mikleo to give out a tiny yelp and Sorey to grin.

 

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you laugh today since our study session began. You know, you should do it more often. Supposed to be good for your health.”

 

Mikleo returned the jab to Sorey’s side, rolling his eyes. “I was just thinking that being friends with this group isn’t that bad after all.”

 

Sorey turned the key in the ignition, the car suddenly roaring to life. “And you just began to think about that after almost knowing everyone for 10 years now?”

 

Mikleo shrugged. “I don’t know. Just observing how we all really do mix together, I guess.”

 

He began to stare off ahead of him, eyes clearly lost in thought as he began to piece together the different ties that everyone had with each other. Sorey could only observe Mikleo; his pale skin, smooth features, hair neatly pulled back into a cascading ponytail with natural curls, tips of his hair dyed blue-

 

Until Mikleo casted his amethyst eyes towards his own green ones, eyelashes flowing with movement as he blinked and gazed back at Sorey.

 

Sorey kept his gaze steady, however, causing Mikleo to shift his with nervousness. “What? It looks like you want to say something. Just say it if you have anything on your mind.”

 

Sorey softly smiled and gently squeezed Mikleo’s hand before responding in a low voice. 

 

“You look beautiful, is all.”

 

Mikleo had no time to react as Sorey pulled his hand away as quickly as his last response, leaving Mikleo to gaze out the side window feeling flushed. What Sorey was implying he had no idea, but he tried to accept it as much as possible in the most comfortable way he could.

 

“Idiot.”

 

Sorey chuckled, putting the car in reverse and soon after driving forward towards the place. After some time, he spoke. “You know, we may end up being the ones having to pay for all of them at this rate. Looks like Zaveid finally got his car to open.”

 

Mikleo smirked, finally feeling more comfortable and back to how he was, without feeling flustered. “We? You’re the one who wanted ice cream, not me.”

 

Sorey gave a quick side glance and flashed a mischievous smile. “Says the one who eats ice cream almost every night.”

 

Mikleo lost his words at Sorey’s comment, causing Sorey to laugh. “H-Hey!”

 

But it wasn’t Sorey’s comment that caused him to stutter. That mischievous look, side glance, and air of confidence that Sorey had was enough to make Mikleo falter and feel weak. He looked out the side window, covering his mouth once more. As the car continued onwards towards the creamery, Mikleo could only stare out the window towards the stars, feeling an odd sense of relief that whatever was going on between he and Sorey will be alright in the end. And in that moment he felt the relief, he felt Sorey’s hand once again on top of his, this time lightly resting on top of his own and not squeezing it. 

 

Whether it was the stars or the late night, Mikleo couldn’t tell. But ever so slowly, he turned his hand over and interwove his fingers with Sorey’s hand, not knowing what could happen, but feeling that everything would be alright.

 

Sorey’s fingers gently moved to weave with his own. 

 

Beneath side swept bangs, red flustered cheeks, and a covered mouth, Mikleo smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this sitting around for MONTHS now, even before Eizen was announced. And boy oh boy, did major edits occur to this story and Eizen's character when Eizen was officially introduced. Dx
> 
> In any case! This first chapter came out longer than I expected. Chapter titles will vary from here on out; some will be named after song inspirations and some will just be, well, generic titles. xD This story is basically a modern AU story with a seemingly slice of life plot. Here's to upcoming chapter 2 soon.


	2. It's Friday Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Cheap Thrills" - Sia
> 
> "It's Friday night and I won't be long."
> 
> Mentions of drinking are within this chapter.

Friday came all too quickly and with another busy week down, Mikleo decided that settling in at home on the couch with the book that he borrowed from Eizen would be a great way to unwind and relax. Adding in Sorey to said activity would also make the situation even more ideal, he concluded.

So how he found himself in Rose’s car on the way to Terra Mine, Eizen’s self-owned, trendy nightclub, was beyond anything he ever imagined himself doing.

He sighed.

“And why, pray tell, do I have to come with you three again?”

Zaveid, who also accompanied him in the backseat much to his distaste, wrapped his arm around Mikleo’s shoulders which began to tense up at Zaveid’s sudden action. Mikleo immediately shook himself free of Zaveid’s grasp.

“Dear gawd, do not touch me.”

Zaveid howled in laughter. “Come on, Mikboy, live a little! We brought you out because, really, you’re gonna sit home and read a book on a Friday night? And what’s this? No one else can touch you except Mr. Shepherdson, is that right?”

Mikleo glared at him. “No, I’m just infuriated by you and preferred not to be touched by someone like you.”

Rose low whistled from the driver’s seat. “That’s a lot of emphasis on a lot of words. Whoops.” Rose immediately swerved the wheel, ensuing honking from the driver she nearly clipped the tail end of. Dezel groaned in the front seat and tipped his hat forward.

“Look, just because I can’t see, doesn’t mean you can drive all crazy.”

Laughing, Rose waved him off. “You’re in good hands! How many times have I gotten us out of crazy incidents and got us to different places safely and on time?”

Dezel could only shake his head. “Less than the amount of times you’ve nearly gave all the passengers a heart attack with your driving, I’d bet.”

Rose stuck her tongue out. “Whatever, don’t ruin the mood, Dezel. We’re out to celebrate yet another week down!”

Mikleo groaned from his seat in the back. “I’d rather prefer the barbecue than this...”

Zaveid scratched the back of his head. “With Eizen and Edna both working tonight, it just wasn’t possible. Besides, today can count as our ‘once-a-week-meet-up-with-everyone’ outing!”

Rolling his eyes, Mikleo huffed. “This hardly counts as everyone. This is just the ‘everyone’ that is allowed to drink.”

“Not true!” Rose yelled, swerving yet again and causing Dezel to growl and sink lower in his seat. She chuckled and recovered at the wheel before proceeding. “Lailah is definitely old enough to drink, but I guess she didn’t want to join us today.”

Zaveid sighed. “That’s cuz she’s with good ol’ Shep and goody two-shoes Alisha tonight. Such a shame those two aren’t of age to drink yet.”

“And where I would rather be at, thank you all very much for considering my feelings,” Mikleo retorted sourly.

“Oh come on, humor us just this once, Mikleo, and then we’ll let you off the hook next time,” Rose hummed. “And besides, it’s not like you were totally against going to begin with.”

And that was true. As soon as Mikleo sat on the couch, Zaveid proposed the whole wild idea of, ‘Let’s go to Eizen’s and drain him of the drinks he has for sale’ and ‘Oh my gawd why are you reading on a Friday night’ rant. Mikleo’s initial thought was to say no, but Mikleo found the taste of alcohol to a certain extent to be oddly enticing, as he had tried it on his birthday several months beforehand.

So as soon as Zaveid saw Mikleo’s moment of contemplation, he picked up Mikleo with ease with chants of ‘What the fuck, you’re as light as a feather dude’ and immediately plucked him into Rose’s car, despite Mikleo’s resistance. Before being thrown into Rose’s car, he looked up to see Sorey watching from his bedroom, chuckling and waving to Mikleo with no intent on saving him at all.

Mikleo could only glare at his friend who in turn picked up his phone to call Lailah and Alisha to hang out, to Mikleo’s assumption.

In the back seat, Mikleo sank even further. “That much is true, but if I have to deal with drunks on the way home...”

Zaveid cackled with laughter. “No worries there, my friend, I’m all but super tolerant to drinks. And we won’t even stay that long, since I’m trying to save a bit of money myself.”

“Plus Eizen and Edna kick him out once they know where his limit is at,” Dezel piped up, straightening himself up as soon as he felt that Rose had better control of the wheel.

Zaveid choked and Mikleo smirked, glad to know that, with all their apathy, the two siblings still know rationally when to call it quits with Zaveid. Rose smiled and pushed on her pedal even more, cheering while doing so.

“Alright, let’s go!”

* * *

 

“Oh my goodness, this looks fantastic!”

Lailah immediately took out her phone and proceeded to take pictures of their presented dessert which consisted of a base of extremely soft shaved ice mixed with fruit and nuts, lightly drizzled with chocolate syrup and condensed milk. It was a decent size to share with a small group and with the three of them altogether, it would be no problem consuming the dessert as a whole.

Sorey smiled. “Glad you think so. Mikleo showed me this place a couple weeks back and even he thought the sweets tasted good here.”

Alisha scooped a bit of the ice and the fruit on to her spoon and squealed with delight as she swallowed. “He’s so right. Any sweets that Mikleo suggests is absolutely flawless.”

Lailah took one more bite of the dessert before noticing that Sorey hadn’t even picked up his spoon. She gestured to the dessert in an attempt to have Sorey also join in consuming it. “Sorey, why don’t you take some as well?”

Sorey put his hand up and shook his head. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll just eat whatever you two can’t finish.”

Lailah smiled and giggled and Alisha slightly nudged him on the side. “Ever being the gentleman as always, aren’t you?” Alisha remarked, a teasing glint in her eyes. Sorey could only manage scratching the back of his head and nervously laughing.

“Mikleo is very lucky to have you has a best friend,” Lailah coaxed, suddenly noticing Sorey’s awkward posture as soon as Mikleo’s name was mentioned. Taking that as a cue, Alisha nodded and rested her head on her propped up arm on the table and casually responded.

“As a best friend indeed,” Alisha repeated. She eyed Sorey with a certain glint in her eyes; in as much as Sorey is clueless, Alisha’s stare was not passed him as he caught it with ease and decided to look the other way. Alisha nudged Sorey’s shoulder to which he chuckled and looked at her with feigned confusion.

“What is it?”

Alisha raised her eyebrow and laughed. “Don’t play stupid with me, Sorey Shepherdson. You have some talking to do.”

Lailah smiled at the interaction of the two, and dabbed her mouth politely before speaking. “I can head back early if you want me to, Alisha.”

Alisha and even Sorey grabbed on to her arm so quickly that it made Lailah jump in surprise. Sorey noticed her hesitation and loosened his grip, smiling while doing so.

“No, stay, Lailah. I don’t mind sharing with you, too. Besides,” Sorey picked up his spoon and took a bite of the dessert, “we’re all friends here, right? And everyone is bound to know some day.”

After swallowing his food, Sorey started. “It’s true, some things are...happening between Mikleo and I. I dunno, I guess that after his birthday in July, I thought it’d be appropriate to start showing little things of affection here and there, kind of like my way of an indirect gift to him?” Sorey began to scratch the back of his head nervously, eyes averted from Lailah and Alisha’s. “But I never did ask him if that was okay with him....”

Lailah’s eyes widened. “Oh my. Did he ever protest?”

Sorey placed his arm down and picked up his spoon once more for another bite of the dessert. “Funny thing is,” he started as he chewed and swallowed, “he never did. The first thing I did was kind of hold his hand and well, you all know how Mikleo acts when he gets flustered...but he never protested to it.”

Alisha crossed her legs and leaned forward on the table, eyes full of inquiry. “Let me guess: he never asked you about what you’re doing, either.”

Sorey shook his head and sighed. “I guess that’s where I’m stumped...? Okay, okay,” Sorey started moving his hands to clear his thoughts before moving on. “Let me get this out there: to be fair, I’m the one who started things, but I just thought, I dunno, knowing Mikleo, he’d ask, you know? So it’s unlike him to not ask so since he never did, I don’t know what to do now...”

Sorey leaned back in his chair and sighed. He combed his hair with his hand once through, his feather earrings jingling while doing so and in an attempt to get comfortable, he crossed his arms. After a second, he began to gently pull the collar of his shirt and fanned himself, looking at Alisha and Lailah, who were all but smiling and suppressing their laughter. Sorey looked at them both and he furrowed his brows.

“Is it just me, or did it just get really hot in here?”

It was at this that Lailah and Alisha bursted with laughter and Lailah patted Sorey’s shoulder gently. She smiled genuinely at him.

“Oh Sorey, you’re completely red!” She opened her purse to hand Sorey her compact mirror to which he flipped opened and observed himself. He jolted back in surprise and immediately closed it to return to Lailah, leaning back in the chair in an attempt to get comfortable, much to his failure.

“T-That’s...is that why you’re both laughing at me?!”

Alisha gasped for air, tears threatening her eyes, as she began to calm down. With a reassuring smile, she shook her head.

“No, no, not at all, Sorey! The complete opposite. I just find it adorable that you get so worked up talking about Mikleo that you don’t even notice how much you actually care for him.”

Sorey sighed and crossing his arms, he closed his eyes. “I just...I don’t know what to do.”

A short silence befell all three of them momentarily. Lailah finally broke the silence and with a soft voice, she spoke to Sorey.

“You really do love him, don’t you?”

Sorey’s head snapped up to Lailah’s response, who was all but smiling at him. It was a genuine, encouraging smile, one that he knew did not mean any malicious intent and as he turned to Alisha, he realized that she was doing the same. Inside his gut, something churned with anxiety, fear, and relief at the thought of Mikleo and all Sorey could do is shake his head.

“I’ve done what I’ve done so far because it only felt natural. And when I think of stopping it all...” he closed his eyes, “a part of me feels like falling apart. But then, when I think of it going all wrong, I feel the same. Another part of me falls apart. Regardless of the situation, it goes down to one thing: I don’t think I can live my life without...him.”

Sorey opened his eyes slowly only to see both Lailah and Alisha completely silent and staring at him. He casted his eyes downwards; it was so odd for him to be admitting everything at once. He felt the need to get it all off his chest and while it sounded almost completely selfish for him to say everything at once, he couldn’t help but admit that it gave him relief that someone else knew how he felt about his situation, as complicating as it was. Sighing, he continued his thought before he let it slip away.

“We’re such good friends, I know that. But somewhere along the way, I know that...that has to end. It always does when it comes to times like this. I realize that I don’t want to be just friends with him anymore; I want to be able to know him more, to be able to depend on him in other situations, to hold him whenever he’s down...and I know that’s going to be hard. Mikleo is stubborn; but I also realize that those hardest to love and care for are the ones that need it most. Mikleo has been through so much and honestly, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t there for him when all these things happened.”

“So when it comes to us being friends...I can’t imagine it anymore. As selfish as it sounds...it has to be something more. I don’t know when it started, I just don’t. But it has to end, this friend...thing. And that’s why I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing. But then I think...” Sorey opens his eyes halfway, deep in thought.

“Do we take that risk?”

Another silence fell over the group, this time, feeling more comfortable than the first. The background sounds of the cafe filled the void of silence among the three of them; clinking of tableware, muffled laughter, and hushed voices blended into a harmonious melody of different individuals meeting together and enjoying each other’s companies.

People who never knew each other at first, but with time, began to understand and know each other.

Some more than others in the cafe, more than likely. Some who took that risk.

It only took a minute before Lailah spoke, shifting in her seat to face Sorey completely. Sorey’s eyes were staring off into the distance in deep thought; he was uncharacteristically quiet and held an unreadable expression, making Lailah raise her eyebrows in concern as she patted Sorey’s hand. He glanced in her direction when she finally spoke. Expecting a full monologue from her, Sorey listened intently with attentiveness.

Lailah’s mouth moved to speak and her lips formed a smile as she spoke.

“Yes.”

She took her hand off of Sorey’s and shifted back in her seat, picking up her tea cup as she did so. Sorey looked at her confused and extremely thrown off from her typical behavior of giving advice; so much so, he turned to Alisha who merely nodded.

“You just answered your own question, Sorey. And you have been, since Mikleo’s birthday.”

Realization dawned on Sorey as he looked at both Lailah and Alisha. Smiling at first and then laughing, he combed his hair with his hand once more before looking at them once more. They sat and nodded to him; he realized no other words were needed to be shared.

“Thanks, guys.”

* * *

“Sooo, how goes the feathered best friend?”

The four of them decided to take one of the table seats that was next to a railing, overlooking the dance floor and stage. It was nearly a perfect spot and almost always a spot they claimed, courtesy of Eizen who always had them on the guest list and a place to sit whenever they came over. Drinks were always half off no matter what specialty they were in. Eizen was completely open to their stay every time they were over, though it was mostly Zaveid who went solo.

So it wasn’t surprising when Eizen himself personally came to the front to let all four of them in and didn’t flinch at Mikleo’s appearance. Mikleo was indeed new to the group, just having turned 21 over the summer and finally had the time (or more like was forced) to head over to Terra Mine. Zaveid nudged to Eizen at Mikleo’s appearance, to which Eizen only shrugged, knowing all too well of Mikleo’s uncharacteristic liking for the taste of alcohol. Mikleo only glared at Zaveid for making such a scene, to which Zaveid snickered at.

But, as much as Mikleo was new to the scene, he almost seemed too natural for the setting, in Zaveid’s opinion. The club itself had a chic interior with plush seating and pale, dim lighting, which highly complimented Mikleo’s general aura. Zaveid laughed even more thinking about the possibilities when Sorey became of age.

At Zaveid’s question, Mikleo only stared. “Fine. Why?”

Rose chuckled. “He says ‘fine’. Ya hear that, Zaveid?”

Mikleo rolled his eyes. “Because it’s true, and nothing else.”

Just as Zaveid was about to comment back, Eizen came up from Zaveid and gave him a loud pat on the shoulder, to which Zaveid yelped at and looked up to Eizen. Eizen ignored his stare and gestured his head to Mikleo.

“Welcome to the club, Mikleo. Fancy seeing you here, finally.”

Mikleo sighed. “This is all Zaveid’s doing.”

Zaveid grinned. “Bound to happen one day or another, Mikky boy! Ya guys live with me, deal with it.”

Eizen shook his head. “Ignore him, though I’m pretty sure you already know how to.” Zaveid gave him a face, to which Rose laughed at. Eizen waved his hand, brushing the topic off.

“In any case,” he said, making steady eye contact with Mikleo, “what’ll you have to drink today? Or more like, what’s your preference?”

Rose cheered. “Oh, Eizen personally came up to us, which means he’s gonna make you a specialty drink. Choose wisely! Though he never goes wrong with taste preferences.”

Mikleo looked at Eizen questioningly, to which he crossed his arms. “Let me clarify: I’m the main barista here too, so all the drinks on the menu are made by me. If you notice....” Eizen pulled the drink menu up from the small table that was in between the four of them, “there are drinks here that should sound familiar to you.”

Mikleo took the menu and nodded in acknowledgement. Among the extensive list, names such as “Crown of Torment”, “Brutality Drive”, “Heaven or Hell”, “Primal Embrace”, and “Early Bloomer” were among the ones he recognized to associate with his friends. The last time he was here, Rose ordered everything and he didn’t need to worry about actually looking at the menu. He almost grimaced at seeing how blatant Zaveid’s was.

Zaveid grinned. “Like mine, huh? I named it myself.”

Mikleo huffed. “No wonder.”

Zaveid’s eye brow twitched. “What the hell does that mean? I think it sounds damn awesome, if you ask me!”

Mikleo was about to combat with, ‘that’s because it’s you’, but decided against it, handing the menu back to Eizen.    
“So. What do you think? Since it’s your first time, maybe I should just call it Meebo...”

Rose snickered, causing Dezel to nudge her in silence. Mikleo groaned.

“Please do not name a drink for me after that. That’s all I specifically ask for,” Mikleo sighed. Glancing up at Eizen again, he put his hand to his chin, in contemplation.

“Are you sure it’s alright to be making something like this for me, though? It seems a lot of trouble...”

Eizen smirked. “Why not? It expands my menu and it gives me time to experiment things. Think of it as a thank you for taking care of the books I lend out to you guys.”

Mikleo eyed him. “That’s hardly any compensation for the amount of history things you let us borrow from you.”

Eizen just waved him off. “A lot of those are first editions, I’ll have you know.”

Mikleo nodded. “True enough.” Putting his hand to his chin, he thought for awhile. “I have more of a bitter preference, a bit more on the strong side, to be honest. Something on the cooler, smoother side, nothing too sweet or fruity.”

Eizen gave one more glance at Mikleo. “You seem to like cold preferences, if I’m not mistaken. And you keep yourself kept and tidy nearly every day.”

Mikleo blinked. Sure he’s known Eizen since high school, but never to the extent of him analyzing himself. Eizen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Mikleo’s neatly tied-up ponytail, to which Mikleo began to shift uncomfortably about. After awhile, he nodded and spoke to the whole group.

“I’ll be right back with your guys’ drinks and your’s too, Mikleo.”

As Eizen turned back towards the bar area, Mikleo noticed Eizen’s dragon tattoo, the top part of it just coming up behind his neck. His eyebrow rose, suddenly piecing the two together. As he glanced at the menu earlier, the specialty of the place was named, “Draconic Drive”. He supposed that it was named after the dragon tattoo trailing his back. He shook his head, still in disbelief how he and Zaveid were so similar, yet different and are the best of friends.

Zaveid was the first to speak once Mikleo returned his gaze back to the group.

“I didn’t know little Mikky boy was a drinker. Our little man is growing up!”

Mikleo shrugged. “I told you, I went with Rose on my 21st birthday. I’ll admit, it wasn’t bad.”

Rose nodded. “Damn right! But I figured you’re not much of a beer drinker, so I got you something with wine and I think I got you a shot of something....probably Pendrago’s brand, but I can’t remember the name.” Rose laughed, pointing at Mikleo. “You’re one heck of a heavy weight!”

Zavied almost choked on his drink glancing at Mikleo. “You, a heavy weight? This changes everything!”

Mikleo shook his head. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to drink all the time. It’s just every once in awhile, honestly. It gets pricey, you know.”

Rose shook her head. “Tell me about it. But he downed 3 Early Bloomers the last time we were here; all within an hour! And he was still sober when he got home; right, Dezel?”

Dezel huffed. “Surprisingly. It was really strong that day too, since Eizen was sick that day and wasn’t making the drinks.”

Rose nodded. “That damn Rokorou needs to lay off putting extra shots here and there...I hope he’s not the one today.”

Dezel shrugged. “I doubt it. He only comes Saturdays when it gets too busy. I think he said he’s helping with set up their other establishment too.”

Rose scratched her head and looked around the whole area. “Is that why Edna isn’t at the DJ booth today?”

Dezel nodded. “Probably. She’s more than likely going over some future plans with him. Though I’d imagine that’s probably going quite fine.”

Mikleo looked across the way towards the stage. As per Rose’s observations, Edna was nowhere to be seen. The music was decent though, so Mikleo had no complaints about it whereas Rose stared towards the direction making sure it wasn’t Edna who was mixing the music. She sighed.

“Man, I was looking forward to hearing her new mixes. For a quiet and small girl like her, she really knows some good beats and mixes.”

Mikleo raised his eyebrow. “Any idea how she ever got into it?”

Rose shrugged and raised her arms in the air. “Who knows? I think she got into it during our third year of high school, if I remember correctly. That’s when she started getting paid for small side jobs and music she would produce here and there; I’m pretty sure it was for her and Eizen at the time when they were both starting their own businesses and living on their own.”

At this, Zaveid’s face turned uncharacteristically serious for a second before lightening up again. It wasn’t passed by Mikleo, however, who knew very well to never mention the past of Edna and Eizen during those times of high school. As he was about to apologize, Zaveid spoke with an even louder and all too chipper voice. “Well, that was in the past! Things happen right?” Zaveid leaned back in his chair and glanced at Mikleo.

“Things do happen and that includes stopping putting your noses where it doesn’t belong.”

Zaveid suddenly whirled around only to be jabbed on the side of his head with a small parasol tip, meriting a small yell as it made contact with him. Mikleo’s eyes widened as Edna strolled up to the small table with a small serving plate, and began placing drinks in front of everyone. Noticing Mikleo’s change in expression, she smirked.

“What, is the almighty Meebo stunned at my appearance tonight? Don’t make the innocent shepherd experience a feeling of jealousy.”

Mikleo scratched his head furiously in frustration and glared at Edna. “Why is it that everything that comes out of your mouth have to do with Sorey?!”

She shrugged. “And why not? Your whole life is revolved around him, anyway.” Before Mikleo had the chance to retort, she turned to Rose. “And no, I am not with that old man tonight. I can’t stand planning out things with a guy like that without Eizen; he’s essentially useless unless Eizen is around and he won’t listen to me so screw that.”

Rose laughed. “So you decided to just help with waitressing things, then? By the way, that’s a cute black dress you’re wearing.”

Edna looked down to her knee-length black dress. Even though it was a simple, two-strap dress with ruffles that began at her waist line and continued until her knees, it was accessorized with a single white flower on the waist line and black lace fingerless gloves. Her hair held a black ribbon instead, wrapping around her side pigtail and up towards the top where a single white orchid lay. She shrugged.

“Thanks. Eizen bought the orchid this morning. Though Ednae orchids are typically colored, but whatever. Still an orchid that compliments what I’m wearing today.”

“I don’t even think the Ednae orchids are in season right now to begin with.”

Edna turned her head to her brother who approached the table with another platter with a tall glass drink presented on it. He slightly ruffled Edna’s hair carefully avoiding the pigtail and the flower, to which she yelped and hit him on the shoulder, much to his amusement.

“They’re totally in season, Eizen. You just have to look,” Edna replied after Eizen presented the drink in front of Mikleo. He turned towards his sister and shook his head.

“Beggars can’t be choosers. And besides, orchids aren’t cheap.”

Edna rolled her eyes. “And neither am I, which is why I deserve only the best.”

Eizen shook his head again and turned towards Mikleo who was eyeing his tall drink suspiciously. The drink itself was clear at the top; as it reached the bottom, it gradually tinted to a hint of blue and was most bold in blue color at the bottom of the drink. It had no other food items attached to it; it was presented simply, cleanly, and vibrantly. Mikleo nodded. Eizen surely did have a grasp on appearances, at least.

Before he could sip the drink, Eizen drew up his hand and began to speak. “If it’s too strong, let me know. I base all my drinks on how I best think a person’s personality is like...and of course their personal preferences in taste.”

As Mikleo picked up the glass, he shook it a bit to see the liquid swirl around. The tint of blue on the bottom barely moved much and he couldn’t help but squint at it, familiarity showing through. Before he could ask, Eizen crossed his arms and spoke, noticing Mikleo’s actions.

“Most of this is comprised of the Life Bottle brand. I dropped and mixed in a miracle gel and a bit of my own secret brand which is the blue tint you’re seeing in your drink.” He uncrossed his arms and shook his head. “Unfortunately, since it’s a bit of my brand is mixed in, I’m not really inclined to tell you what that’s comprised of. But I’m sure you’ve had a taste of a life bottle and miracle gel on their own before.”

Mikleo nodded. “I think the last time I was here, Rose ordered one Life Bottle and I had a taste of the Miracle Gel shot she had last time too. They were both pretty good.”

Zaveid low whistled. “Miracle gel shots burn like hell after awhile. But they taste damn smooth, I’ll give you that.” He gave a swat on Eizen’s side and chuckled as Eizen turned to him. “You gave him all the classy, big shit ingredients for his drink!”

Eizen shot him a look and threw a quick nod at Mikleo. “That kid is more classy than you think and even I can see that without living with him. And since he prefers some of the stronger taste, that’s what I got.” He turned his gaze to Mikleo. “Give it a go.”

Mikleo nodded, but couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious as he began to take a sip. With all eyes on him, it was hard to hide his face from the initial quick burn of the drink as it travelled down his throat. He quickly shut his eyes for a moment, feeling the slow burn from what he assumed was a mix of the Life Bottle and Miracle Gel tastes in one. However, true to Zaveid’s word, Mikleo began to taste the smooth texture of the Miracle Gel, and it left a refreshing, cool, and soothing feeling in his throat afterwards. Mikleo took one more gracious sip before replying.

“This tastes really good, actually.”

Zaveid howled in laughter while Eizen smirked. “Good to hear. Any thing you want me to change to that?”

Mikleo shook his head and Eizen shrugged. “Well, in that case. Think of a name for it.”

Stuttering, Mikleo scrunched his face up trying to think of a name. Dezel uncharacteristically smirked and with a slight tip of his hat, he responded in a low voice before Mikleo could.

“Meebo.”

It was Edna who shot a surprise glance at Dezel while Rose bursted out with laughter, nearly choking on her drink while doing so. At the sound of her own created nickname, Edna rested her hand on her hip and grinned.

“Well. I’m okay with that.”

Shaking his head furiously, he glanced to Dezel who was actually chuckling, and back to Edna and Eizen. Seeing where this was going, he could only face palm.

“I told you guys, anything but that!”

Rose could only wipe her tears as she spoke. “I’m just more surprised that Dezel actually suggested that rather than Zaveid.” Giving a good smack on the shoulder to Dezel, she then scoot closer to him and faced her back against him in preparation to lean against his arm. Dezel relaxed and crossed arms, leaning into Rose without being as noticeable, and Rose chuckled as she felt Dezel relax. She then propped her legs up on the long bench and graciously placed them across Zaveid’s lap who gave an audible ‘mmf’ as he took a sip of his drink while Rose did so. She grinned as Zaveid glanced at her and he shook his head.

“I mean, I GUESS if you’re comfortable...” Zaveid responded.

Rose laughed. “Of course! In any case...” she looked over to Mikleo’s glass again, which he proceeded to take another sip. “ Do you mind if I take a sip?”

Mikleo shrugged, handing his glass to her. “Sure.”

She took the glass and after one sip, she inhaled sharply and gave the glass back to him. “Wow, that’s really strong! Except I think Elixir Vitae’s is a little stronger than that. But that’s really good, not gonna lie.”

Mikleo cocked his head to the side. “Elixir Vitae?”

Zaveid nodded and pointed to Edna at the same time as she quirked her eyebrow towards him. “It’s Pendrago’s famous brand, known for literally waking up people and their senses and it looks really close to what you got there. It’s extremely strong, but it’s got a great flavor. Little Edna had a shot at it before.”

Edna shrugged. “It’s alright. Definitely don’t want to drink that alone, though. It might cause you to do something stupid. Actually, doesn’t matter. You’re as stupid as they get.”

Mikleo gritted his teeth as she flashed him a sick-threatening smile. He dare not admit it aloud, but the sound of the drink sounded enticing to him, almost a challenge he’d like to take. Oddly enough, he liked the taste of alcohol to some extent and trying out different ones (especially a specialty of a city) piqued his interest.

But again. He dare not admit it aloud. He knew he’d never hear the end of it from Edna and Zaveid.

Eizen tapped his chin as he looked at the drink and back to Mikleo. As he stared at it, Mikleo thought as well, thinking of a name and all too suddenly, Mikleo’s eyes brightened up and he looked up to Eizen.

“Aqua Limit.”

Eizen raised his eyebrow. “Aqua Limit? As the name of it?” He eyed the drink once more and nodded. “I can see what you mean. You’re really into the cold and water, aren’t you?”

Mikleo stuttered and looked away. “I guess...”

Edna rolled his eyes. “Did you know Sorey called him a merman last week because of his long hair? I mean, that’s so manly, Meebo. Any man would be jealous by that comment.”

Zaveid chuckled as Mikleo gave a glance of extreme annoyance up to Edna. “Shepherdson is the only guy who can pull of saying shit like that with a straight face! But he’s right, guys. I guess ‘Aqua Limit’ really does suit. Did you add that ‘limit’ because that drink is apparently fucking strong?”

Mikleo shrugged. “I’m not good with this stuff. It just sounded...appropriate, I guess.”

Eizen took up the platters and prepared to walk away. Before leaving, he faced Mikleo. “Alright, I’m adding this to the menu. If you need any other changes, let me know before you leave.”

Edna also took it as her cue to leave with her brother but before doing so, she lightly poked Mikleo on the head with her parasol, causing him to wince.

“Get a move on with your crap, would you? I’m tired of hearing it around.” With that, she walked away with Eizen, who gave her another list of drinks she had to pass around the club area.

Mikleo rubbed the spot where Edna poked and shook his head. “What’s her problem? I haven’t even been talking about it.”

At this, Rose immediately cut in, as an attempt to cover up her discussion with Alisha and Lailah earlier than week. She stretched her arms out and sighed loudly, which even caused Dezel to jerk a bit.

“You know,” she started, “your drink is really good but it’s also really strong. I can’t believe you’re so tolerant! It’s almost as strong as Edna’s.”

“And speaking of little Edna...” Zaveid suppressed a laugh as he spoke, bringing back the topic from earlier, “Your first drink...was Edna’s themed drink, I’m hearing?”

Mikleo’s eyes widened, and he looked at Rose, who howled in laughter. She was probably already tipsy at this point, but Mikleo had to know.

“Are you serious, Rose?! Honestly?! Is that why it had a floral after taste?!”

She wiped away tears. “I wanted to get you something strong, and hers was the strongest next to Zaveid’s! Gotta see where your baseline is, you know? So I went all out! Mine isn’t even as strong as hers.”

Zaveid laughed. “That’s so fucking ironic. But for real, that stuff is strong! I mean, mine is no different, but...”

Mikleo just sighed. “Either way, I was screwed. Whatever.”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t want to go too weak like Dezel,” Rose waved, to which she earned what felt like a glare from Dezel.

“Look, I like to take my time and enjoy myself, alright?” he responded, taking a small sip of his drink. It was surprisingly sweet, especially with someone as quiet as a personality as Dezel.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Exactly why I didn’t get it for Mikleo. This boy needs some serious speed in picking up his game.”

At this, Zaveid coughed and grinned. He decided to bring up the previous week’s events. “I was so close this past Monday, Rose, you should’ve heard-”

“No, you did not need to be there for that,” Dezel shook his head and sighed.

Rose began to laugh. “Oh, is this the famous Monday incident that woke up Dezel at an ungodly hour?”

Mikleo glared at Zaveid. “You’re such an ass.”

Zaveid chuckled. “I was SO close, Sorey almost knew!”

Mikleo slammed his fist on the table, his bangs moving about. “And that’s something I should handle on my own, thanks.”

Rose took another sip of her drink, and pointed lazily at Mikleo. “But isn’t he, like, already putting the moves on you already? Why not just reciprocate? That’s such an open door.”

Mikleo’s eyes widened. “That’s-!”

“Oh please,” Dezel huffed. “Don’t act like it’s not obvious. Even I noticed.”

Rose laughed, watching Mikleo’s actions. “We saw you two holding hands earlier this week. Don’t deny it.”

Mikleo face palmed and groaned. He was hoping no one noticed that incident.

“That was NOTHING, really. All he was doing was walking me to my car because I had to drive to Dumnonia Museum for work-”

“So that’s why he held your hand from Storyteller’s Hall to the parking lot and even intertwined his fingers with yours the whole time?” Rose interjected, grinning. She was winning, Mikleo knew, and all he could do was look away, clearly flustered at remembering the incident.

Zaveid choked. “I mean guys, I don’t swing that way, but what the fuck, man? If you guys are already at that stage, then you guys are clearly something. And when the hell did this happen? You guys live with me and you guys still act the same.”

Mikleo shook his head. “Because I don’t want to keep things awkward. It was only for like 5 minutes on Wednesday, I had work and that’s it!”

And it really was only for 5 minutes. After their class ended at 4:30, Mikleo immediately packed his things and left the classroom, only for Sorey to follow him out into the hallway, clearly confused as to why Mikleo left so fast.

_“I have work, remember? I have to pay for our groceries and my phone bill somehow.”_

_Sorey laughed. “Just slow down for a minute! It’s not until 5:30 and Dumnonia Musuem is literally around the corner.” He walked closer to Mikleo. “Mind if I walk you to your car?”_

_Mikleo feigned annoyance as Sorey caught up to him and walked at a slower pace. As the two began to approach the open double doors of the hall, Mikleo’s hand accidentally brushed against Sorey’s. He opened his mouth to apologize, but stopped mid way as he felt Sorey’s hand slowly grasp his own very lightly. It was hesitant and slow, but it definitely felt like it held deeper meaning...almost similar to what Mikleo felt in the car that night two days prior._

_Mikleo didn’t glance at Sorey, for fear of Sorey seeing his extremely red face. As soon as they walked through the double doors, they both walked down the stairs in silence. Mikleo had enough of the awkward hand grasp on his own and decided to take it a step further._

_“Look, your grasp on me is loose, and this might be easier-”_

_Immediately, and maybe too quickly as Sorey startled a bit, Mikleo intertwined his fingers with Sorey’s. He caught eye contact with Sorey for a split second and immediately looked away, wondering why in the world he had to justify his actions. Silently, they both walked to his car and Mikleo deftly pulled out his keys with his other hand. As he opened his driver’s seat, Sorey gently removed his fingers from Mikleo’s hand, to his disappointment, surprisingly._

_Mikleo faced the driver’s seat and stood by his car before nodding to Sorey. “You gonna be okay getting home?”_

_Sorey nodded and smiled sheepishly. He fidgeted a bit as soon as Mikleo’s eyes landed on his and he laughed nervously. “Yeah, of course. Rose is gonna get me as soon as Dezel is done. Don’t stay out too late, alright?”_

_Mikleo chuckled at Sorey’s concern. “You’re worried about me staying up? I think you should take a look at yourself first.”_

_Sorey laughed again and this time he took a step closer to Mikleo. “Well, it’s because I know the scholarship is a lot of pressure on you since it pays for your full tuition each year. I just don’t want to see you too stressed, okay?”_

_“Sorey, I’ll be fi-”_

_Mikleo stopped dead in his tracks as Sorey leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his forehead, near the area of where his circlet was. It was gentle, quick, and so very much like Sorey that it caused Mikleo to stare at him in shock as he pulled away, looking in the other direction. True that Sorey had kissed him on the cheek before, but for him to kiss his forehead where he obviously knew of his circlet’s location seemed more intimate than any thing he had done before._

_Mikleo stuttered a rushed, “S-Sure” before entering his car and seating himself, applying the seatbelt as soon as he settled. Sorey watched him with an unreadable expression, but it reflected something close to compassion and possibly...love, if Mikleo were seeing things correctly._

_As soon as he drove off, Mikleo shook his head wildly, still feeling the heat of Sorey’s lips on his forehead, circlet glistening with every movement his head did._

Mikleo put his hand to his face. “Are we really going to have to talk about this right now? Can we just...enjoy the vibe of this place or something?”

Rose laughed, and she pointed at Mikleo. “Hey, at least Sorey’s actually trying. Where do you stand, oh mighty Mikleo?”

Mikleo glanced at Rose and for a second was dumbstruck by her question.

Where did he stand in all this? What was his decision? His answer?

How did he not wonder this all before?

Before he could answer, Zaveid just shook his head. “Just keep it tame kids, alright? I live in the room next to you guys and I’d like to fall asleep quietly, thanks.”

Mikleo whirled around to Zaveid. “We are not like you, Zaveid.” He paused and breathed in before looking off to the side. “And neither is Lailah.”

Rose low whistled and even Dezel quirked his eyebrow up, clearly approving Mikleo’s come back. Zaveid was taken aback, clearly overwhelmed by Mikleo’s comment before recovering.

“Ey, ey Mikboy, that’s why love is called a process. And that actually stung, man!”

Mikleo smirked but shook his head as he did. “As if you bringing up Sorey in front of Sorey doesn’t hurt me?”

Zaveid chuckled and waved his arms about. “Alright, alright, I get it! But hey man, like I said before, I’m not giving up on her and I totally meant what I said that I hope you don’t give up on Shepherdson!”

Mikleo shook his head before crossing his arms and staring at Zaveid. He inwardly cringed at what he was about to ask Zaveid, but he figured it was the perfect opportunity.

“I hate to ask, but what in the world is your deal with Lailah?”

Zaveid opened his mouth to respond, only to shut it and look at Rose who was currently avoiding eye contact with Zaveid and staring at the ceiling. He made a face before turning back to Mikleo and pointed to Rose.

“I’d tell ya man, if Lailah’s roommate weren’t chillin’ here like no tomorrow.”

Rose snapped her head forward and she stuck her tongue out. “Hey! What happened to being like family? And I’m practically your family since I’ve known you forever!”

Zaveid could only shrug and raise his arms up, feigning a look of hurt across his face. “You only know me only because you saw Dezel almost every day when we were kids! Of course I moved out with Eizen once high school started...”

Rose huffed. “Look, my dad just needed things settled with Eguille and I have no idea why the hell Eguille was always at your place whenever he had business to do.”

Zaveid just shook his head. “What can I say? The ‘rents are good friends with him. Not to mention little Lefarga was always with him too; Dezel was tied to the hip with him!”

At the mentioning of Lefarga’s name, Mikleo half expected Dezel to lash out at how casual his name was brought up, but was quickly relieved to see Dezel just huff and lean back, relaxing while doing so. He took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Eguille adopted Lefarga. Did you really think he was gonna leave him at home alone when we were all kids?”

Zaveid laughed. “Alright, alright. You win. This is why the parental units were always looking to you for rationale.”

Dezel just shook his head. “Just because you’re a big idiot. They didn’t even want to send you away for high school since it was a boarding school, though I’m glad they did because your room is now mine also.”

The conversation had long derailed from the talk about Lailah, causing Mikleo to finally interject. A lot of information about Zaveid was being shared so he took it as an underlying excuse to get more information about him for his interview project that he and Sorey had to do later on.

“Wait, Zaveid went to boarding school?”

Zaveid chuckled and leaned over, propping his arms on his knees. “Why do you think I know Eizen’s gang so much? We all went to the same high school together. Eizen and I, we go way back. His parents and mine have been friends since high school and we always visited them every summer. So one summer during our last year of middle school, Edna made fun of us saying that we would be lazy bums living in our cities for the rest of our lives and betted that we would never make it on our own. I told Eizen that we should go to a boarding high school up north to prove her wrong and, well, the rest is history!” He stretched his arms out and leaned back on the chair. “Of course, Eizen moved back to Rayfalke during our last year of high school and attended Ladylake High with y’all to finish, but yeah, that’s another subject that Edna doesn’t want me talking about.”

At the mention of the last portion of Eizen, Mikleo nodded. He didn’t know the specifics on Eizen’s end, but Mikleo could clearly remember when Edna received the call during their lunch hour in the classroom, informing of her parents’ accident and their arrival at Camlann Medical Center. With eyes wide, she packed her bag quickly and ran outside of the classroom down the hall, only to be followed by Sorey in which Mikleo followed suit.

_“Edna! How are you going to get there!? You can’t drive yet!”_

_Without stopping, she yelled behind her. “I’ll run there if I have to! I can’t just-”_

_She was immediately stopped by someone grabbing her arm, but just as she was about to protest, she noticed it was Sorey pulling her forward urging her to run faster. Worry spread across his eyes as he glanced at her for a second._

_“I’ll drive! Ladylake to Camlann takes about forty-five minutes and we’ll definitely get there faster with a car!”_

_Edna shook her head. “Idiot! You’re just going to miss classes and-”_

_“And I’m going to,” Mikleo responded, ignoring Edna’s protests. “My uncle works in the emergency department and I’m pretty sure he’s treating them as we speak so we’ll be able to get in fairly easily!” He glanced at Sorey as they reached his car, Sorey fumbling with his keys to get it open. “I know we’re in a hurry, but drive carefully, okay? You just got your license two weeks ago.”_

_Sorey nodded and sat in the driver’s seat as everyone else piled in. “I know. Hold on, Edna, we’ll get you there in no time.”_

_Edna remained quiet for the rest of the time being until they reached Camlann Medical Center. Everything was a blur after they arrived, but the only thing he remembered clearly was Edna sobbing in Eizen’s arms, yelling something incoherent into his sleeve._

Mikleo was jolted out of the past memory he recalled by Zaveid’s laughter, who seemed to be recalling the pranks that he and Eizen did while in high school. He just shook his head and slowly sipped his drink, the memory slowly dulling. Since that day, Edna lightened the teasing with him, but she definitely did more things for both he and Sorey like driving them to certain places and paying for them when there was no occasion. She respected Sorey a lot more than what he remembered, in her own way.

As he took another sip, he found he was nearing the bottom of his drink. Everyone else was also nearing the end of their drinks, signaling the nearing end of the night. Typically, Zaveid didn’t order seconds or thirds when hanging out with Rose and Dezel, knowing that Dezel only drank one round before calling it a night himself. Mikleo also figured that since he was around, they would probably leave soon. He sighed to himself. He supposed he would ask Zaveid later about other details when Sorey was around and he had a dreading feeling that he would somehow hear about Lailah during those conversations as well.

As he placed his glass on the table, Rose turned towards Mikleo and broke away from Zaveid’s conversation, who were now currently talking about their childhood past and growing up in Pendrago. Mikleo could only raise his eyebrow in confusion, catching some tail parts of the conversation between the two. At this, Rose smiled.

“I was gonna ask you something unrelated to these two, but that can wait for a minute. You looked pretty stumped. What’s up?”

Mikleo just shook his head. “I know Zaveid and Dezel are cousins that grew up in the same house, but it still boggles my mind how different they act at home. They hardly act like they grew up together.”

Zaveid turned towards Mikleo and grinned. “Whatta you talking about, Mikboy? Notice how everything in the kitchen is organized a certain way and everything is labeled with braille labels? And how Dezel doesn’t even let anyone enter his room except me and Rose?”

Dezel huffed. “I hate to admit it, but that bumbling idiot knows how to organize my items in a way that I remember where everything is. Everything needs to be in a certain way routinely so I don’t loose all my items in my room. As for the kitchen, I trust that you and Sorey put everything back as it should be.”

Mikleo nodded, pushing back the thought that he had to constantly scold Sorey for not putting items back the way they should be. They were both aware of how clean the house has to be and how certain items have to be put a certain way so that Dezel could find them with ease.

“Yeah, I’m aware, it’s just that it’s still hard for me to believe that Zaveid does all that work for your bedroom.”

Rose raised her hand. “So do I! Zaveid sometimes misses certain stuff so I look out for it.”

Dezel shook his head. “You both make it sound like I’m completely dependent on both of you.”

Rose nudged him and smiled. “To a certain extent, you kinda are.” She ignored Dezel’s furrowed expression and waved the subject off. “Anyway! Enough about us three. We’re about to split, but I just wanted to ask you real quick: What are you getting for Sorey’s birthday?”

Zaveid inhaled sharply and slapped his hand on his forehead. “Ah shit, that kid’s birthday is next week Saturday, huh?”

Rose nodded. “Hey, at least he’ll finally be old enough to drink with all of us!”

Mikleo just shook his head. “I highly doubt it. He likes coffee and tea, mostly. That’s why he hangs out with Lailah a lot on days I can’t go out.” At this, Mikleo side glanced Zaveid, who glared back at him.

“Hey, why you gotta look at me like that, Mikboy?!”

Rose just laughed and nodded again. “He’s not wrong, though. Lailah is stocked with tea and coffee every week. Just letting you know her tastes, is all! But in any case...” she tapped her chin in thought, “I haven’t gotten him anything yet. So I was wondering what you got him.”

Mikleo shook his head. “I’m actually going with Alisha tomorrow to shop around. Don’t know if we’re going to Marlind or Ladylake to shop, though. Since I’m picking her up and you guys live in Rayfalke, we’ll just figure out if Marlind or Ladylake is better depending on traffic.”

Rose snapped her fingers. “Darn it, you guys WOULD go out during my work time. If you guys head out to Marlind, stop by the shop to get a good ol’ cup of coffee that I’ll brew myself!”

Zaveid scoffed. “You know, you’re probably the reason why Lailah is stocked with coffee since you work in a coffee shop and all.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “What does that even supposed to mean? I think you’re drunk Zaveid, it’s time to go home for you.”

“I only had one drink!”

Dezel raised his eyebrows. “One drink too many.”

Mikleo merely just shook his head and he nodded towards Rose. “I can drive us back to Marlind, if you want, since you have to backtrack towards Rayfalke after we get dropped off.”

Rose’s face lightened up, and she smiled. “Really? That’d be awesome, thanks, man!” She tossed her keys to Mikleo who caught it with ease. Crossing her arms, Rose continued to grin and nudged Zaveid.

“Now that’s what you call a gentleman.”

Zaveid merely opened his arms with a false look of hurt spread across his face. “Is it our fault that you live in Rayfalke and not in Marlind with us? That’s such a commute every day!”

“Hey!” She smacked Zaveid on the shoulder, even causing Dezel to wince a little. “Some of us aren’t exactly the richest. Rayfalke has cheaper living expenses and plus, it’s the halfway point between Marlind and Ladylake! It’s convenient for me, Lailah, and Alisha, at least.”

Mikleo nodded. “She’s really lucky to have her full tuition paid off at Ladylake University.”

Rose just shook her head. “As if your scholarship doesn’t pay off your full tuition!”

“Doesn’t mean my other expenses are paid of!” Mikleo retorted back. “Zaveid is such a pig that buying groceries is a pain in my wallet, sometimes.”   
“Hey, hey!” Zaveid waved his arms in the air defensively, “I pay my fair share every week. It’s just yours and Shepherdson’s job to clean the house and cook for all of us each week.”

“Plus, the house is already paid off, mind you all,” Dezel added.

Zaveid just sighed, and shook his head. “Good ol’ Lefarga...” he mumbled under his breath before picking up his volume again. “In any case, guess I shouldn’t be talking cuz Marlind to Ladylake’s commute gets rough for my work every so often.”

Mikleo just rolled his eyes at Zaveid’s antics, clearly done with everything that occurred that night. Looking at his watch, he slightly winced at how late it was, but slightly admitted to himself that he did indeed have fun with the three of them (despite some comments).

“It’s a half hour past midnight...should we go now?”

Rose nodded and sat up to stop leaning on Dezel’s shoulder, stretching her arms while doing so. “I’m game. Other than Zaveid, I think we’re all pretty wiped from this week’s stuff. I woke up at 7 today so I’m wiped.”

Zaveid chuckled. “Alright, I’ll tell Eizen we’re outta here. Tab’s on me tonight,” Zaveid stood up and walked towards the direction of the bar area, while Rose cheered.

“And I was about to fish out some gald. Dodged another payment there!”

Dezel just chuckled slightly. “You’re a fast one to please, you know that?”

At this, Rose leaned back her head on his shoulder and she grinned. Even though he couldn’t see her, she knew well enough that he was just as content as she was. She laughed as she saw him smile a bit.

“And that’s why you like being with me!” At this Dezel just huffed and looked off to the side, to which Rose smiled. Mikleo watched how the two interacted and just grinned, knowing that the two have been in a comfortable and established relationship for quite some time. Of course, they at least took the risk and ended up being together somehow. Mikleo inwardly cringed, remembering Rose’s question, and shook it out of his head for the time being.

Mikleo fidgeted with Rose’s keys in his hands and turned towards her. “I’m driving, right?”

Rose gave him a thumbs up. “Yep! Thanks again, man.”

* * *

 

It was around 1 am when Sorey finally heard Rose’s car pull up in the driveway below, causing him to peak outside the window. Mikleo came out of the driver’s seat, he noticed, with Rose switching over to it as soon as he exited. The two exchanged a couple of words for awhile before Mikleo could only face palm and Zaveid yelling something he couldn’t quite understand. After a few more exchanged words to wrap up the conversation, Rose casually walked up to Dezel and gave him a quick hug before letting them all walk towards the front door. He noticed Dezel pull his hat even lower after Rose had hugged him; Sorey chuckled at the sight. Even after three years, Dezel still became flustered at such interactions.

The front door began to unlock and Sorey put down the book he was reading to greet them from the second floor landing. Zaveid yelled a loud, “It’s good to be home!” followed by Mikleo immediately scolding him for being too loud and accidentally waking up Sorey. Sorey could only chuckle and he waved down at them.

“I’m awake, guys. Good to see you all home safely.”

Dezel waved up in acknowledgement. “I’m going to bed. ‘Night.” He continued to walk to his bedroom on the first floor near the kitchen, and as he opened the door to his room, a loud bark was heard followed by scurried footsteps. Mikleo stiffened and did not move as he saw the medium-sized dog run down the hallway towards Zaveid and Mikleo, Zaveid’s arms opened wide to receive the pale-colored dog.

Dezel sighed. “Sylph, it’s too late for this. Go back in the bedroom.” At his command, Sylph gave one more lick to Zaveid’s face and looked up expectantly at Mikleo, who merely gave one pat on the dog’s head before the dog disappeared around the corner into Dezel’s room. Dezel could only chuckle as Sylph entered his room once more.

“Still afraid of him after you’ve been here for almost three years?”

Mikleo shook his head. “I’m getting used to it! It’s better than my first year here, alright?”

Dezel just shook his head and he called out to Sorey. “Hey. Did you take him out before we came home?”

Sorey nodded. “Yup! He went to sleep right after in your room, though, so I just closed it until you came back.”

Dezel nodded. “Thanks. ‘Night, again.” And with that, Dezel closed his bedroom door.

Zaveid stretched his arms as he traveled up the stairs. “Eventful night for you, Shepherdson? All three us men were out and about without ya.”

Sorey just shrugged and began to turn towards his bedroom. “I just had a snack run with Alisha and Lailah, and it was chill. I took them to the dessert place that Mikleo suggested to me a couple weeks ago.”

Zaveid began to open his door and he laughed as he entered. “I’m sure you all had some conversations, but good ol’ Zaveid is too tired to ask you how that went. See y’all tomorrow.” He closed his door with ease, leaving Mikleo and Sorey in the hallway. Mikleo crossed his arms and smirked at Sorey.

“That place near Dumnonia, am I right? Keep going there and you’ll gain some of the weight that you’ve been losing through your workouts with Zaveid.”

Sorey just shook his head. “Hey! I just ate whatever they didn’t finish, so I think I’m pretty good!” He looked at Mikleo before coming closer, much to Mikleo’s surprise. He began to shift his eyes in the other direction to not make eye contact with Sorey, who was now at least a foot or two away from him. Sorey just laughed, causing Mikleo to look at him in confusion.

“You just kind of smell like a mix of sweet fruit and alcohol, is all. Did you actually drink with them?”

Mikleo nodded. “Eizen made me my own themed drink and it was pretty good. Though, I don’t think you’d be able to stomach it, come the time you’re old enough to be able to.”

Sorey put his hand to his chin in thought. “Mm...probably not. Never pegged you to become someone who liked drinking, though.” He chuckled as Mikleo glared at him.

“I only do it every once in awhile, okay?!” Mikleo sighed and started to untie his hair from his ponytail, running a hand through his bangs as he did so. He didn’t notice the way Sorey began to shift uncomfortably in front of him, looking the other way with embarrassment as he did so. Mikleo began to massage the back of his head, not realizing how tight he had his ponytail that day and winced at how it was slightly throbbing at the back of his head.

“Anyway, why are you even awake? You usually go to sleep early since you volunteer with Lailah in Ladylake on Saturdays.”

Sorey finally looked at Mikleo and grinned. “Just wanted to see that you guys came home safely is all.” He turned his back on Mikleo, but before doing so, he lifted his hand and gently ran one finger through one of Mikleo’s curly strands. He chuckled as Mikleo was taken aback and looked towards Mikleo from his doorway before closing it.

“Your hair looks good long.”

And with that, Mikleo was left alone in the hallway as Sorey closed his door softly. Mikleo could only murmur things to himself as he went to his bedroom and closed it, putting his face in his hands to attempt to cool down the redness that he felt creeping on his face. Glancing at his phone, he could only hope that nothing else happened between now and his meeting time with Alisha the next day.

Sorey, on the other hand, sat on his bed and also put a palm to his face while shaking his head. He leaned back in his covers afterwards and covered his face before closing his eyes, realizing that he probably sounded too creepy to Mikleo. He lightly laughed to himself as he remembered Mikleo’s face expression as he said that, and he turned over into his covers before finally being prompted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that after re-reading chapter 1, there were a lot of unclear aspects of certain characters. I tried my best to clear some of that up in this chapter, but more will be revealed as later chapters come along.  
> Also, Eizen's interest in history and art comes from a memo in Berseria that stated that Eizen has an interesting hobby for having passion in antiques and art. Edna also stated somewhere in Zestiria that Sorey reminded her of Eizen, so it just seems like Eizen is the type who also shares the same interest as Sorey and Mikleo, haha.  
> Every chapter won't have drinking as well. Every now and then it will be mentioned, but not so much as that is not the main focus. I am also aware that Miracle Gels aren't even in Zestiria (HA), but they're in Graces (if I can recall correctly) and they're such a pretty blue color that it had to be used instead. xD None of the other gels matched the color of Mikleo except that one, haha.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	3. Don't You Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Rosa Dear" - Ruth
> 
> "You're my whole world."

_“Sir, don’t go there, it’s off limits!”_

 

_“Shut the hell up, I have every right to see him because he’s my guardian!”_

 

_“H-hey, we s-should just stay here and-”_

 

_“And what?! Expect me to sit here while he’s hurt?!”_

 

_“Mr. Dezel Fidaya...he’s gone.”_

 

With eyes opening wide and a sharp gasp, Dezel was rudely awakened only to find himself still in bed. Cold sweat ran down on the right side of his forehead and he swiped it away as he sighed and attempted to regulate his breathing. As soon as he did so, he felt around on his left side for a small button on his nightstand and pressed it until an automated voice sounded out.

 

“Time: Nine oh five, AM.”

 

Dezel groaned at hearing the current sound and slowly sat up in bed, attempting to shake out the nightmare he had once more.

 

It had happened on more than one occasion. There used to be nights where sleeping was impossible, mostly following the days of Lefarga’s passing. On those nights, Rose was up with him through his silent tears and all. He lost count of how many times she stayed over with him despite his protests for her to just go home and leave him be. She never did listen to him though, and she came without fail each day after school to give him his homework and stayed with him every night. There was a point when she finally went home and it wasn’t until then that he realized a part of Rose staying over was a bit of her own selfish reasons.

 

He knew she felt guilty. Guilty of what happened, even though it was a stupid accident. 

 

Throughout high school, Rose moved in with Eguille, who was setting up another business branch in Ladylake for her father and his SparrowFeathers distribution company. Tired of her life in Pendrago, she took it as an opportunity to go with him and naturally, Dezel followed. Lefarga had just graduated Pendrago High as soon as Rose and Dezel started at Ladylake High. He decided to attend Ladylake University in pursuit of business and also moved in with Eguille, with the intention of working for the SparrowFeathers after graduation.

 

Dezel couldn’t be anymore elated. The first three years of high school were his best; other than the incident with Edna which had put the whole group down for awhile during their first year, Dezel could remember each day living at Eguille’s with Rose and Lefarga was a bit of something like a dream looking back now. And it wasn’t like Brad minded that his own daughter live with a bunch of guys; Dezel knew that Brad and Eguille were as close as brothers and nearly trusted he and Lefarga with Rose’s life.

 

When Lefarga suddenly became successful in the business trade at such a young age, he began to take on more jobs through internships and eventually acquired a job. Dezel remembered that Lefarga had a knack of learning things quickly; so much so, that he graduated within three years of his college degree, earning him a job right away. It was he and Dezel’s idea to move out of Eguille’s and to Marlind at the start of Lefarga’s first year in a job and Dezel’s fourth year of high school. Marlind had considerably cheaper living expenses in comparison to Ladylake and he eventually paid off the house in no time through the jobs he was in. Living with Lefarga was a bit of laugh as well, and he could remember all too clearly of Rose’s nagging comments when she first visited them at the house.

 

So when the accident occurred, he figured out that Rose couldn’t go home to Eguille. She couldn’t look him the eyes after what had happened and there was an overwhelming guilt she felt every time she looked at him. Even with him, he could feel how she really felt, but it wasn’t nearly as terrible as the emotions she had when she was around Eguille. The guilt she felt around him eventually stopped, but he knew he felt a bit of it when Zaveid moved in with him in the house for the remainder of his last high school year, to help him around since Lefarga was no longer present. He felt how much Rose tried to be chipper about the situation; but knew all too well of how much she tried to hide her emotions. Rose knew that Zaveid had to move out of Ladylake during his last year of college at Ladylake University, causing him to commute even farther for his school; naturally, he knew, she felt the guilt. 

 

A vibration of his phone on his side lamp stand jolted him from his memories causing him to curse. Sylph even raised his head for a moment before jumping on to his bed and laying in his lap. Dezel absentmindedly began to pat the dog. 

 

His phone eventually stopped vibrating and an automated voice began to speak. “Incoming text message from: Rose Wilkis.”

 

“Read,” Dezel said loud and clear for his phone to catch.

 

“‘I’m on my way now so you bet your ass that you should be ready by now ‘cause I got work after lunch!‘End message.”

 

Dezel just shook his head at how ridiculous the monotone, automated message sounded like reading a message like Rose’s. Then again, everyone else’s text messages, save for Mikleo’s, sounded just as silly.

 

His hand ran through Sylph’s fur and he smiled while doing so. Lefarga claimed the dog wasn’t to help him for his blindness, but rather as a companion. And he wasn’t wrong; the dog was only specially trained (somehow) to not mess up the house and had no other certifications under its belt. But Dezel couldn’t help but have a gut feeling that Lefarga did want the dog to keep Dezel company on days like this. 

 

He sighed once more and patted Sylph as a signal for the dog to get up and off his lap, to which the dog complied. He knew that he better get ready, knowing all too well of how loud Rose would be once she came in without him being ready for the day.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for picking me up today, Alisha.”

 

Alisha put her car in reverse as she backed out of the driveway and smiled. “It’s not a problem, Mikleo. I just figured that it’d be easier for both of us since we decided to shop around Marlind today.”

 

As she drove down the culd-de-sac and out on to the main street, Mikleo chuckled. “Yes, but I’m not used to you picking me up that much.”

 

Laughing, Alisha smiled at Mikleo again and she nudged him lightly on the shoulder as she reached a stoplight. “That’s because you’re such a gentleman!”

 

Alisha’s laugh and smile were so contagious that Mikleo couldn’t help himself to another laugh with her. “As if. Though,” he started, and glanced at her, “I am wondering why you were so insistent on not going to Ladylake today.”

 

Alisha’s smile immediately dropped, but she suddenly picked it up again and nervously smiled. “Ah well, I see Ladylake every day, why would I want to go to it during the weekend?”

 

Crossing his arms, he squinted at her. “Really, Alisha? You’re going to try to lie to me, of all people?”

 

She immediately waved him and her nervous laugh slipped once more. At the stoplight, she sighed and inhaled, trying to catch her words. 

 

“I’m just, you know, trying to avoid someone right now.”

 

“Sergei, let me guess.”

 

Whether it was Mikleo’s bluntness or the sound of Sergei’s name, Alisha didn’t know, but she choked a bit and coughed, regaining control once the stoplight turned green. Mikleo’s expression became apologetic and he looked away from Alisha.

 

“Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said that so bluntly.”

 

“No, no!” Alisha exclaimed. “It’s fine. You always hit the nail on the head when it comes to these things.”

 

“I just,” Alisha began, “Clem texted me that she saw him in Ladylake shopping center today so I didn’t want to go there.”

 

Mikleo quirked his eyebrow and eyed her. “So let me get this straight: you avoid people you adore or fancy?”

 

Alisha grimaced and Mikleo took it as an affirmative answer. He chuckled as he noticed her reaction.

 

“Not very confrontational, are we?”

 

Alisha switched on her turn signal as she pulled into the parking lot of Marlind’s mall and rolled her eyes as she did so. “You’re one to talk!”

 

Mikleo stuttered and he looked away. “I’m getting there, I’ll have you know. But you, I have never heard a girl running away from such situations. I haven’t even met the guy before.”

 

Alisha maneuvered her car into a parking space and she began to roll up the windows, signaling their arrival at the location. Eyeing Mikleo, she put a hand to her mouth and flushed red. 

 

“He’s...I’m sure you and Sorey will meet him one day. I just...it’s a long story!”

 

Mikleo opened the door to exit her car and he flashed her smile. “That’s why we got all day, right?”

 

* * *

 

“And here you go! Don’t forget this bag too!”

 

Sorey wiped off the sweat accumulating on his forehead as he lifted the remaining boxes on to the truck. He watched Lailah from afar as she continued to finish up passing out bags of assorted items to the now small line of individuals who were receiving the items last minute. Flashing a smile, she gathered the bags together and gave it to each individual who came up, each one nodding thanks as she did so. 

 

As soon as the last individual came up, Sorey walked up to her and patted her shoulder. She turned and smiled at Sorey, nodding while doing so.

 

“I can’t thank you enough for helping out this group every Saturday, Sorey,” Lailah began, as she looked around to the other volunteers. “We all appreciate the help in passing out these items to the less fortunate around Ladylake.”

 

Sorey flashed a grin in return. “I told you, it’s not a problem! I love helping out with non-profit organizations and stuff, so I’m really glad that you’re involved in one every Saturday.”

 

The bells began to chime from Ladylake’s sanctuary as soon as she opened her mouth to reply and she eyed the building longingly for awhile until the bells stopped chiming. Noticing her expression, he turned towards the sanctuary and nodded towards it. 

 

“Going to attend service today?”

 

Lailah jumped at his words, clearly lost in thought already. She shook her head politely, and smiled, sadness tracing the lines. 

 

“Not today. I...don’t think I’m quite ready to go back yet. I believe in worship, but...maybe another time when I feel comfortable to go back to those individuals.”

 

Sorey nodded, picking up on Lailah’s hesitation. Out of everyone in the group, Lailah had the belief of worship in Maotelus who was the lord of all of the land and Glenwood, and her faith never wavered much as she reflected much wisdom and calm in her daily actions. It wasn’t until during their first year of college, however, that she began to feel uncomfortable with certain individuals (namely individuals her age) who attended services at Ladylake sanctuary, causing her to stop attending the services, even though she still did her daily beliefs through a different method.

 

He looked over the city of Ladylake and nodded towards her. “Hey, want a crepe? My treat.”

 

Lailah pried her eyes away from the sanctuary and she smiled. “I’d love that, Sorey.”

 

* * *

 

“Well, I’m stuffed.”

 

Rose stretched and slightly burped, causing Dezel to sigh and shake his head. 

 

“We’re in public, I hope you know.”

 

Rose just rolled her eyes and comfortably placed her arms behind head. “Yeah, yeah. But honestly, it’s not like you’re the one who has to deal with the stares, y’know.”

 

Dezel quirked his eyebrow. “You’re really going to use the blind card on me.”

 

Rose laughed and she slightly jabbed him on the forearm. “I only mean it in good spirits!”

 

He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever. I don’t care, to be honest.”

 

Rose cocked her head to the side and began to stare at Dezel, which he could feel through the silence between them. Shifting uncomfortably, Dezel cleared his throat. 

 

“What?”

 

“You seem kind of off today. What’s up?”

 

Damn. Dezel shook his head, making a careful mental note to watch his actions. He couldn’t possibly tell her of the nightmare he had again last night because he knew how Rose might feel upon hearing him dreaming of the accident again. Combing his hand through his hair, he just sighed again.

 

“It’s nothing, trust me. I’m fine.”  


Rose hummed and stared at him once more before clapping her hands and lightening up. “If that’s the case, why don’t we head out? I gotta clock in to work soon.”

 

Dezel nodded solemnly, trying his best to hide his behavior, but it didn’t slip under Rose’s eye. Just as they reached the front to pay, Rose fished out her wallet and patted Dezel’s hand which was ready to give the payment. She smiled; even though she knew he couldn’t see her, she was almost positive that he could feel it.

 

“My turn today. You can get next time’s.”

 

“Rose-”

 

“Nuh uh uh, put that damn wallet away or so help me as I will make a public scene of making sure that wallet is in your back pocket next to your ass.”

 

Dezel froze for a moment at just how lewd Rose could be so quickly before slightly chuckling and putting his wallet away.

 

“Fine. Just this once.”

 

Rose smiled again, a small victory yet again accomplished as she paid their tab. Outside, Dezel’s walking cane was already out and feeling the road before him until he felt a hand intertwine with his.

 

She knew. She definitely knew why he was like this.

 

But he realized that no words were needed. Instead, his grasp on her hand tightened as she led the way with confidence, a silence that spoke louder than any thing they could ever express.

 

* * *

 

“Honestly, I’m almost surprised how well Sorey dresses nowadays.”

 

Mikleo chuckled as Alisha went through the racks in search of a long jacket, one that would suit Sorey for the upcoming winter. Marlind’s winters varied from time to time, but there was no doubt that their area of the campus was always deathly cold, since it was a few feet up the mountainside. With the way her eyebrows were furrowed, however, he assumed that she was having no such luck finding something akin to Sorey’s style.

 

He walked up to the rack that she was looking through and he eyed the selection carefully. With a slight smirk, he chuckled as Alisha made a curious expression towards a rather questionable clothing item.

 

“I honestly think Sorey is just competing with me at this point.”

 

Without so much looking at him, she smiled. “You mean, competing _for_ you, right?”

 

Mikleo coughed. “Excuse me?”

 

Alisha laughed. “Competing for you against your grades, silly. You’re always stuck in your books so I’m sure he’s just trying to catch an impression for you to look at him!”

 

Mikleo rubbed his temples and sighed. “What are we, in high school? Why must we speak like this?”

 

Alisha straightened up and pouted. “Well we wouldn’t be in this situation if you two just got together already. Just make me a third wheel already, and everything will be fine.”  
  
Mikleo raised his arms in the air. “How does that even make sense?!”

 

Giggling, Alisha pulled out a coat from the rack and began to take it off the hanger. “It means, you guys would be official the day I become a third wheel and this madness can stop. The three of us have been friends since elementary, right? Here, try this on. I know you’re a smaller build than Sorey, but I want to see how it looks like on someone.”

 

Mikleo complied and proceeded to take off his scarf and dark cardigan as Alisha began to hand him the coat. He slipped it on with ease and once he fully it on and casually put his hands in his pockets, Alisha gave a light clap.

 

“This looks good, even on you, Mikleo. I mean, you pull off everything wonderfully but this looks fantastic.” With an inquisitive look, she looked into Mikleo’s eyes. “What do you think?”

 

Mikleo inspected the coat and moved around a bit before nodding and grinning to Alisha.

 

“It’s perfect. I’m sure he’ll like it. He’s one for functional items, in any case.”

 

Alisha helped Mikleo shrug off the coat and she began to put it back on the hanger. “He better like it. I only had the most fashionable man of our group come out with me to shop!”

 

Mikleo rolled his eyes. The two began to walk to the cashier and he flashed a quick glance at his watch.

 

“We’re good on time. I need to go to the grocery to buy some ingredients, and then we can head over Marlind’s Joe to get a cup of coffee from Rose.”

 

As they lined up, Alisha eyed Mikleo. “Wait, what about you? Did you already get something for Sorey?”

 

Mikleo nodded. “I did. I just need to make that ice cream cake and wrap up my gift, though it’s not the best thing in the world.”

 

Alisha took a step forward as the line moved along and she looked at Mikleo with a slightly shocked expression on her face. 

 

“So we came here just for _me?_ Mikleo, why didn’t you tell me anything?!” Playfully, she nudged Mikleo’s shoulder and he chuckled.

 

“If it gives you any relief, I was hoping to find something to accompany the item I bought for him already, but couldn’t find anything. So this trip really wasn’t a waste. And also,” his eyes glinted at Alisha, “I believe you still have some things to tell me.”

 

She sighed and looked away. The cashier called her to the register and flashing a quick smile, she turned to Mikleo before walking away.   


“How about I tell you when we get to Rose’s cafe? She um, pretty much knows everything too, anyway.”

 

He began to walk with Alisha as she took a step forward to the cashier. “Sure. That sounds like a plan.”

 

* * *

 

Lailah began to hum as she sat on the square’s fountain, waiting for Sorey to come back with the crepe she requested. A sudden breeze came, causing her ponytail to slightly pick up with the wind and she smiled up towards the sky at how beautiful the day seemed to be. The sun was just peeking behind the clouds, causing the temperature to be slightly cooler, but definitely perfect for the Fall weather. 

 

She glanced around at the city around her. Ladylake was a huge city, but among the hustle and bustle, beauty peeked around every corner. Emphasis on arts and creativity was shown throughout the city with intricate building motifs and a few art statues and pieces sporadically spread out through the city. It was what Lailah called home for the first seventeen years of her life; meeting Edna and Eizen in preschool and elementary school, becoming friends with Sorey and Mikleo in junior high, and eventually forming a huge group including Rose and Dezel during the first year of high school. Zaveid was in and out of the picture since he lived so far away during their elementary to high school years, only having seeing him once in those times and now finally being able to see him starting her first year of college. For the most part, though, she had heard mentionings of his name through Edna and occasionally from her cousin Ceres who had gone to the same boarding high school as he and Eizen. 

 

Those years are treasured memories. She knew from the bottom of her heart that she lived a goodeducational career with friends she could always rely on. All the same, though, there were things in the city she would rather not remember, which opted her to move out of the city once college began and Rose suggested the idea to move out since they were all going to Marlind University in any case. 

 

She remembered the opposition she received at home. Her father, though a very humble and nice man and probably the one who understood her the most, unfortunately could not see the rationale of moving a mere 20 minutes away when she could just commute from home. Her mother, on the other hand, shot down the idea right away. She had always been a strict woman, having many high expectations for her, which led to constant extracurricular activities she had to participate in when she was younger. From piano lessons, to classical dance and waltz, to voice lessons, to after school tutoring to achieve perfect grades; she had known nothing but pressure for the first few years of her life. 

 

She was almost positive that without Edna and Eizen, she would not be where she was today.

 

She remembered there was a time when Ceres lived with them from elementary to junior high due to Ceres’ familial reasons. Once she reached high school, she moved out of the household to the boarding high school to get away from the household, but wished Lailah all the blessings Maotelus could give her in her absence. Ceres never returned and ended up attending college up north and prospering afterwards, but Lailah still received a few of her mails from time to time, giving her comfort and peace.

 

Lailah loved her parents with all her heart; Ekseo was a jolly man, and Lara was a kind and reserved woman. They always supported her in any thing she did, but when it came to grades and name, she knew there was more implication to keep that over anything she ever did before. These on top of the individuals that somehow didn’t like her within the sanctuary were the reasons why she moved away. She felt the need to grow outside of something she wasn’t familiar with. Though she loved the sanctuary leaders with all her heart, it still came to question her as to why none of the individuals her age ever liked her. Calling her ‘Ms. Perfect’ and ‘Sanctuary’s pet’; there were more names but she chose to not remember them.

 

Worshipping in the sanctuary was only for Maotelus and no one else, she always told herself. With time, though, the teasing developed, and she knew it was time to leave. 

 

Edna had always been there for her. As monotone as her voice may be, she listened to all of Lailah’s hardships, and even when she didn’t speak, Edna made her because Edna knew that Lailah was hurting. 

 

Smiling was the only way to cover it all. Edna (and even sometimes Eizen) saw through it all.

 

She still did it, covering things she didn’t want to unearth. But she was much stronger than before. She knew to rely on people instead of shying away; she knew the nights where she felt her worst to stay within Edna’s company; and she developed hobbies to help her cope in much better ways than linger in her own thoughts by herself. Her friends in high school helped her experience the best years of her life, and even to this day, the days never felt uneventful.

 

It didn’t seem much, but to Lailah, every bit was a step forward and she knew she was doing much better than she did five years ago.

 

So when Sorey came bounding up the steps that led to the fountain with two crepes in each hand, she smiled a true smile filled with warmth. 

 

Sorey sheepishly smiled and handed her the crepe, sitting down comfortably next to her as he did so.

 

“Sorry about the wait! They got my order mixed up so I had to wait a bit longer. On the upside, they gave me a coupon for a free crepe the next time we come around!”

 

Lailah giggled. “That’s wonderful of them. Keep it for next time you’re here with Mikleo or Alisha.”

 

Sorey took a bite of his crepe and smiled. “That doesn’t sound half bad, actually. You know,” he started, as he began to tear the paper around the crepe, “I ran into Zaveid down there for a few seconds. He seemed busy though, so I’m assuming he just got off his lunch break.”

 

Lailah continued to stare of into the distance and she hummed. “Is that so? I didn’t know he worked weekends as well.”

 

Sorey shrugged. “He’s been doing that since last month, actually. And he’s been on his laptop a lot as if he’s studying, though I really don’t have any idea what he’s up to...would you happen to know?”

 

Lailah shook her head. “I’m sure Edna and Eizen know, but I haven’t heard of anything.”

 

Sorey eyed her curiously, a sudden question crossing his mind. As he mulled around debating whether he should ask it or not, Lailah turned to face him and she laughed.

 

“What’s going on in that maze of a mind of yours, Sorey?”  


 

Sorey’s raised his brows when Lailah turned to him and he pursed his lips. Looking away, he let out a small laugh before scratching the back of his head. 

 

“Ah well...I have a question for you, but I’m not sure if you’d be comfortable answering it.”

 

Lailah just shook her head. “To be fair, you told me all about Mikleo so I can answer anything you’d like to know. Or, at least as far as I know.”

 

Sorey took another bite and slowly chewed before swallowing and opening his mouth to speak.

 

“What’s going on with you and Zaveid?”

 

Lailah’s smile fell and she looked at Sorey with a distant expression that he couldn’t quite discern, making him feel a little comfortable as she gazed at him. He put his hand up and nervously laughed, looking away as he did so.

 

“Ah, it’s fine, you don’t have to answer that! It just, uh-”

 

“To be honest, I don’t know, either.”

 

Sorey glanced at Lailah, surprised by her sudden interjection, but allowed her to continue. She began to slowly chew her own crepe and lazily tore the paper off, neatness following her fingers as she did so. Her eyes wandered in an unclear direction, far from where she was currently and it occurred to Sorey that he never realized Lailah looked out of tune with the present when Zaveid’s name was mentioned.

 

“I don’t know,” Lailah continued, placing the torn paper on the concrete next to her. “To be honest, it’s a little ambiguous for me how I feel towards him. We are in no way together currently, nor do I think it’ll happen, but...”

 

Sorey finished the rest of his crepe and crumpled the paper up before speaking.

 

“Well, what do you feel about him? Let’s start with that.”

 

Lailah’s shoulders slumped. “Narcisisstic. Conceited. Loud. Obnoxious.”

 

Sorey practically cringed at all the descriptions of Zaveid. Well, Sorey thought, she’s not lying.

 

“But....” Lailah started once again, snapping her head back to the present, “I must admit that, although his brash on the outside, his true intentions are appropriate and genuine.” Lailah connected her eyes with Sorey’s and smiled softly.

 

“So I do not think Zaveid means any cruel intention. At least, for the most part.”

 

Sorey nodded, and smiled back. “Yeah. That’s Zaveid. He really is a good guy.”

 

Lailah pouted and looked away. “Hm. If I didn’t know any better, it would sound as if you’re trying to make him sound more valuable than a friend for me, Sorey.”

 

Widening his eyes, he shook his head. “N-no, no! I mean, I won’t deny that everyone else has been-”

 

Sorey immediately cut his sentence off, only to be met with Lailah’s piercing gaze to which he slightly shrunk at. It was something he feared about Lailah, despite her calm demeanor. Instead of a twisted smile, however, he was only met with a sigh as she bore a face of defeat.

 

“Sorey, that’s...”

 

Sorey began to scratch the back of his head apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up suddenly. I was just worried since his phone has been vibrating nonstop this past week from all the messages he gets from Edna.”

 

She shook her head. “Oh my. I hope Edna isn’t saying anything too harmful.”

 

Sorey laughed. “Well, I mean she is your best friend. She only means well...in her own way. But,” he looked off into the distance not meeting Lailah’s eyes, “do you mind if I ask you again, how do you really think of Zaveid?”

 

When Lailah didn’t meet Sorey’s gaze, he continued. “I mean. We all know you, Lailah. You internalize a lot of things from us and we just want you to know that we’re always here for you to count on.”

 

With a small laugh, Lailah smiled and nodded. “I appreciate the sentiment. I really do. And I absolutely love every single one of you because you’re all so dear to me. However, with Zaveid...”

 

Lailah sighed and shook her head again. “What I am about to say is something I appreciate if you keep to yourself and Edna, if she asks you. Because only she knows as of right now. But I trust you and you’re such a sweetheart; I know you wouldn’t say a word.”

 

Sorey sat in silence, patiently waiting for Lailah to form her words as she shifted around until she finally stopped, staring out to the plaza below.

 

“Sorey, I...do believe I have taken some fancy to Zaveid. Surprisingly. After these past two years of him pursuing me, I thought it was a joke, but this past year has shown me that he is genuine in his interest in me. I really didn’t know how to think of it, but now that I’ve had the chance to get to know him a little more and have heard some insights from both Eizen and Edna, I do believe he is...a truly, honest man.”

 

“However,” Lailah continued, as she saw Sorey open his mouth to speak, “the reason why I hesitate is because I...do not believe I am in a position right now to be in a relationship. Not just because of school, but I’m sure you know that my parents are quite...particular. And with the current situation of myself, I do not think I am quite settled in certain other aspects of how I see things right now. In general, I haven’t quite found...that peace just yet. It’s a slow process; while I am definitely not the person I was in comparison to was six years ago, I still do believe I want to find a better peace in myself before I can find myself committed to someone else.”

 

Lailah looked down at her lap and noticed herself fidgeting and quickly stopped, sighing as she did so. She could feel herself almost emotionally drained and with all the information she had just spoken to Sorey, she wasn’t quite sure how he would take it. Just as she was about to apologize for such a rant, Sorey began to speak, a smile brimming each word she could hear without even turning to him.

 

“Then how about starting from the beginning? Just because you two share a mutual feeling, it doesn’t mean it’s got to go farther than that. Get to know him more, but this time, on a one-on-one basis between you two.”

 

Making eye contact with Lailah, Sorey smiled even more as she stared at him with full attention. 

 

“What I’m basically saying is, just go on a couple of dates with him, and nothing more. Give the guy a chance and see how he’s really like when he’s by himself. I’m sure you’ll find your answer to your uncertainties in no time!”

 

With Sorey’s smile, Lailah couldn’t help but softly smile back. Sorey was truly something else.

 

She softly placed her hand on top his and grinned.

 

“Thank you, Sorey.”

 

* * *

 

The door’s bell chimed, signaling the entrance of new customers. Without so much losing her pace in making the coffee order she was currently working on, Rose looked up and grinned widely.

 

“Well, well, ain’t it the customers of the hour! Good to see you two!” 

 

Mikleo nodded in acknowledgement and Alisha gave a small wave as they both came in, walking up to the counter to prepare their order. Rose quickly finished her order and called the name of the customer of who it was for, before finally coming up to the counter. 

 

“Alrighty, what can I get you guys?”

 

“Um...” Alisha tapped her chin in contemplation as she scanned the menu board. “I’ll have the pumpkin spice latte.”

 

Rose almost snorted, to which she received a glare from Alisha. “Sorry, I just figured you’d get that. Anyway, you, Mikleo?”

 

“Just your daily blend.”

 

Rose chuckled. “No creamer or sugar, I’m assuming. That’s so you, Mikleo.”

 

Mikleo shrugged. “I like to taste the natural roast, to be honest. I like sweets, but coffee just tastes better without anything added.”

 

Alisha pouted. “Wow, thanks for making me look great, Mikleo.”

 

Rose started to snicker. “What, worried that Mikleo here has a more slim figure than you?”

 

Alisha’s eyes widened. “ROSE!”

 

Mikleo covered his mouth shyly and looked the other direction. “I’m not THAT slim, you know.”

 

Rose winked. “I beg to differ, in all honesty.”

 

Mikleo just rolled his eyes. “...we’re in public, Rose, let’s not right now...”

 

Rose just laughed and waved him off. “You’re too good. Dezel told me the same thing earlier, would you believe that? Actually, disregard that question. You know what, call it on the house today. Your tab’s on me today, so just go ahead and take a seat.”

 

Rose retreated from the counter and proceeded to make their drinks. As Mikleo turned, though, he noticed in the far back Dezel with his crossed arms, shaking his head. His laptop was propped up with one earphone in his ear and Mikleo could’ve sworn he was watching them through his bangs if he had sight. 

 

Alisha took the seat two seats away from Dezel as the seats around him were occupied. As she settled in, Mikleo stopped by at Dezel’s table and sighed.

 

“I’m assuming you heard Rose all the way back here, huh?”

 

Dezel scoffed. “You’re apparently a slim build, Mikleo.”

 

Mikleo just shook his head. “Honestly, no one needs to know my size.”

 

Dezel shrugged. “Could be beneficial for people like me. At least I know your height matches your build.”

 

Mikleo glared. “...HEY.”

 

Dezel smirked. “Don’t take it the wrong way. Just take it as an assessment for my novel.”

 

Mikleo quirked his eyebrow. “Is this your final project for your major?”

 

With a nod, Dezel uncrossed his arms. “Yeah. I’m doing some research on it right now, at least the readings, but I’m trying to figure out what to write for my novel and how I can use what I learn from these.”

 

“MEEBO! PRINCESS!”

 

Mikleo suddenly jolted forward and Dezel crossed his arms suddenly to hide his surprise, as both heard Rose’s call, signaling that Mikleo and Alisha’s drinks were ready. Mikleo slowly turned to Rose and glared, a huge smile on her face as she came from behind the counter and his drink to him personally.

 

“What?” Rose asked innocently, as Mikleo grabbed his cup with an irritated glare.

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Agreed,” Alisha came up from behind Mikleo and took her drink from Rose. Rose’s grin widened as she relaxed and put her arms behind her head in her trademark pose.

 

“Oh come on, you guys got free drinks _and_ a free upgrade. I gave you guys larger drinks!”

 

“And I appreciate that, thank you,” Mikleo responded. “But honestly.”

 

Rose chuckled again before turning to Dezel with an inquisitive look. “Heard you’re still mulling your mind for an idea on your novel. Got anything so far?”

 

Dezel nodded. “Kind of. Maybe. I’m thinking...of basing it on the legend of the Shepherd.”

 

Mikleo’s eyes gleaned at the mention of the story by Dezel, and Alisha giggled, noticing Mikleo’s sudden attention. Rose, however, waved her hand aside and looked skeptical.

 

“Isn’t that just a legend, though? None of it is actually real-”

 

“Actually,” Mikleo interjected, “there are some evidences that the Shepherd may have been real, and that he did in fact interact with the seraphim and even Maotelus himself. If you take into consideration the Guinevere Tower Shrine and the recent discovery of Lefay Waterfall Shrine, they seem to point towards elemental implications of wind and water-”

 

“Oh for the love of Maotelus, we didn’t ask for one of your class lectures, Mikleo,” Rose rolled her eyes. “I’m sure Dezel here would rather like to hear your input, but man that’s a bore for me.”

 

Dezel shrugged. “It’s actually interesting. I can see why Sorey reads that Celestial Record constantly.”

 

Mikleo shifted uncomfortably from Rose’s interruption, but recovered quickly at the mention of the Celestial Record. He nodded towards Dezel’s laptop. “Is that what you’re listening to right now?”

 

He nodded again. “Yeah. Doing some basic research right now so I can at least have a basic plotline formulated by tonight. I’ll probably need to do some more reading elsewhere. I’m planning to make this a fictional novel story by using the basis of the Shepherd. From what I researched earlier, doesn’t sound like there’s that many evidences on the story of the Shepherds’ journeys. Could be interesting to write a story of what could have happened, of course, using fictional characters.”

 

Mikleo smirked. “I’m sure Sorey and I can help you with the background. Sounds pretty interesting.”

 

Alisha smiled. “Oh look what you’ve done, you’ve gotten Mikleo to talk about his passions in life. History and Sorey.”

 

Mikleo just covered his face and turned the other direction, walking towards their table. “Shut it, Alisha.”

 

Alisha merely laughed and followed Mikleo back to their seat, leaving Rose to stand there idly. She placed her hands on her hips and nodded towards Dezel. 

 

“Hey. Sure you’re okay?”

 

Dezel lifted his cap and brushed out his hair before sighing. “Yeah. I lose myself in writing in order to take my mind off of it. To be honest, this is probably the most productive I’ve been in days.”

 

Rose frowned seeming unsure, but playfully punched Dezel’s shoulder. “If you need anything, I’m here. Holler me out. And I mean it.”

 

He smiled before putting back one earphone back into his ear. “Whatever.”

 

Mikleo watched from their table as Rose returned back to the counter, going back to her usual work routine. He turned towards Alisha then, who sipped her drink tentatively and sighed.

 

“Well? You seem interested in helping Dezel a lot.”

 

Mikleo shrugged. “I don’t really mind. He’s not a bad guy at all.” He paused and sipped his drink before continuing. “Like this Sergei fellow, I’m sure.”

 

Alisha shot him a look before Mikleo began to chuckle and grinned at her expression. 

 

Shrugging, Mikleo continued. “What? You told me you’d tell me a bit about him, right?”

 

Alisha just rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “You’re sometimes too much, you know that?” She sipped her drink again and placed her cup on the table. “But yes, I did promise you that much.”

 

Mikleo crossed his arms and eyed Alisha as she rested her chin on her hand, in tentative thought. 

 

“To be honest, I think it started out probably during the start of my summer quarter. We were having group project time and reviewing the program development plan that we’re currently implementing this quarter, and he came in and introduced himself as a TA.”

 

Mikleo smirked. “You definitely know how to start a story, I’ll tell you that. Maybe you should help Dezel.”

 

Alisha squinted at Mikleo. “You know, I can easily stop this story too, if you’d like.”

 

Waving his hand aside, Mikleo shook his head. “Teasing, teasing. Go on.”

 

“Yes, well,” Alisha adjusted her seating position and took her cup to take a sip, “he came around to each group and introduced himself, making sure to let us know that if we needed help, he was there to help us out. He apparently graduated from Pendrago University two years ago and just recently moved here to Ladylake for an internship opportunity. He works part time as a TA at my university though, since the internship was offered to him through Ladylake University.”

 

Mikleo quirked his eyebrows. “How did that connection happen?”

 

“He graduated at the top of his class at Pendrago U, it seems,” Alisha continued. “Ladylake of course heard about him and his accomplishments and offered an internship opportunity here. Quite the coincidence too; he’s been wanting to expand his horizons here in this region so he took the opportunity right away. Of course, the catch is that he has to be a TA for a few of my classes.”

 

“And thus ends the thrilling introduction of a blossoming love yet to come!” Rose nearly yelled as she pulled a chair up in between Mikleo and Alisha. Alisha made an attempt for Rose to quiet down and she sighed.   


“Rose, can you not!”

 

“Goodness, you’re everywhere today, Rose,” Mikleo pointed out.

 

She laughed and scratched the back of her head. “I’m on break for reals, now. Heard you talkin’ up a storm about good ol’ Sergei.”

 

“You know him too?” Mikleo asked inquisitively.

 

Rose leaned back on her chair, resting her arms behind her head. “Eh. I wouldn’t say _know_ him, but we’re acquaintances of the sort. We went to the same elementary school and junior high so we’ve seen each other around.” Rose stretched her arms and sighed before resting back into the chair. “Real friendly guy, I’ll tell ya that. Super active in all the leadership positions and a strong advocate in whatever he does. He came around to get to know a lot of people in the school, which is why he knows me. And well, he knew about my dad’s SparrowFeathers’ business too, so yeah.”

 

Mikleo looked to Rose, then Alisha. “Sounds like he’s a real nice guy.”

 

Alisha nodded slowly. “He has...charisma, I’ll say that much.”

 

“AND he totally has it bad for Alisha. I’ve never seen her that much on her phone in these past few months.” Rose snickered.

 

Alisha huffed. “To be fair, those were also group texts because of our huge program we’re implementing this quarter!”

 

Waving her off, Rose shook her head. “Mmhm, alright, princess.”

 

Shaking her head, she sighed. “And while we’re on the topic, would you please stop calling me by my middle name? It’s embarrassing.”

 

“Even more reason to call you by it, _princess_ Alisha,” Rose sneered.

 

“Anyway,” Mikleo interjected, clearing his voice. “From what I gather, this Sergei fellow is on internship here in Ladylake and you both have a mutual interest in each other, but for one reason or another have not expressed that or gotten on any dates whatsoever. Am I right?”

 

After receiving an enthusiastic nod from Rose and another sigh from Alisha, Mikleo continued. “Honestly, I see no harm. Well. Wait. Other than the fact that he’s a TA and you’re a student.”

 

“That’s _exactly_ the problem, Mikleo,” Alisha said lowly. 

 

“Well...” Rose scratched her chin, “I’d say it’s still too early to say anything. It’s only been four months. I mean,” she pointed a thumb at Mikleo, “Mikleo and Sorey have had it bad for each other their whole lives.”

 

Mikleo immediately choked on the coffee he was sipping and Alisha bit back her sudden laugh, actually appreciating Rose’s comeback. With an audible smack, Rose began to pat Mikleo’s back and grinned as Mikleo shrugged her off as he regained his composure.

 

“Again, Rose, we are in _public_ , so can we not, right now?”

 

She waved her arms around to the rest of the room. “Like anyone _cares,_ Mikleo! Hell, everyone now knows about Sergei and will probably forget it in like five minutes! Take a chill pill, dude. And gawd, while we’re on the topic, the tension between you two is so high it’s almost suffocating.” Rose nodded towards Alisha. “Princess, do something about this.”

 

Alisha waved her arms in the air, shrugging. “That’s just how Sorey _is,_ though.”

 

Rose shook her head. “Like a sunshine; warm to touch, but too bright to the point of blinding not just others but also themselves.” She looked towards Mikleo. “Gee, why don’t you just ask him already?”

 

Covering his mouth, he shook his head. “I’d rather not.”

 

Rose scratched her head in frustration. “Argh, both of you will be the death of me! Fine, one of you gotta sing for this cafe next Friday night.”

 

Both Mikleo and Alisha put on scrunched expressions, clearly confused. With a cough, Mikleo spoke.

 

“And where the hell did that come from, Rose?”

 

Rose stood up, placing her hands on her hips. “Both of you are frustrating me to high heaven so I’m asking if one of you can sing for this cafe next week in compensation for my frustration.”

 

Alisha shook her head. “You didn’t even ask properly...”

 

“Well, it’s either one of you sing or one of you confess the hell out of your stupid emotions to your so-called friends by the end of next week.”

 

Mikleo eyed Rose. “I would refuse right away, but knowing you, if I didn’t confess by next week, you’d probably do something I would regret.”

 

Rose snapped her fingers at Mikleo. “You gotcha, Mik. I know you sing, so don’t deny it.”

 

He shook his head. “ _Used_ to sing. Not in public anymore.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Oh that’s right, I’m sorry, your voice only belongs to Sorey’s ears nowadays...” she turned away from Mikleo before he had the chance to retort. “And you, princess, what’ll it be? Seems like your good ol’ friend is out.”

 

“Are you serious, Rose? Can’t I think about it first?”

 

“Well-” Rose immediately stopped, hearing her name being called back, signaling the end of her break. She sighed and turned her backs on them, speaking as she did so.

 

“You all were saved. Don’t think I won’t ask again, though!”

 

With that, Rose returned back to the counter, tapping Dezel’s hat forward before doing so. He audibly growled and she laughed loud before disappearing to the back.

 

“Hm. Well that was eventful,” Mikleo remarked.

 

“You can say that again,” Alisha added on, turning her head to Mikleo as she did so. “But really, Mikleo...I’m worried about you. Are you...really okay with Sorey?”

 

He sighed and closed his eyes. “Let met guess. Did Sorey tell you anything?”

 

She widened her eyes. “N-no! It’s just...” she breathed through gritted teeth, trying to not let her lie slip, “everyone’s been saying you two seemed closer and Sorey is, well, Sorey, and you...I just know you like to just know the facts...”

 

Mikleo kept his eyes shut as he spoke. “I’ll admit that this frustrates me a bit. But...I can’t deny the fact that I also...enjoy where this is going. At the same time...the ambiguity eats away at me each day.” He sighed, eyes still closed. “We’re...friends. And I’ve watched how we’ve changed, watched how _I’ve_ changed; the feelings in my head space just keeps rearranging...and to be honest, I feel it’s a little dangerous. Needless to say,” Mikleo breathed, “I’m a mess of some sort of emotions, I suppose.”

 

Alisha grimaced. She had a gut feeling there was something off and it almost seemed her suspicions were true. But with the look of Mikleo’s expression...

 

She kept her gaze on his face expression, anticipating his next answer to her final question.

 

“But...despite all that, do you still...love....him?”

 

Mikleo visibly jolted a bit and he shifted his weight. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked straight ahead out of line from Alisha’s sight. 

 

“Love...” he mumbled lowly to himself. Blinking once, he met his gaze with Alisha’s and he gave a side glance filled with contemplation and a flurry of emotions. Giving a small smile, he turned his head fully to Alisha after recollecting his thoughts, and Alisha could have sworn his eyes brightened a bit.

 

“...I guess you can call it that.”

 

Alisha’s eyes widened a bit and even she felt herself slightly blush at the way Mikleo gazed at her suddenly. Not so much in a way that she thought Mikleo was attractive, but it was definitely a moment when she realized Mikleo was much more beautiful than she originally took him for. 

 

And definitely a perfect match for Sorey.

 

She coughed, and regained her composure, smiling brightly.

 

“I’m glad to hear that.”

 

Just as Mikleo was about to respond, his phone began to ring a familiar tune and he gave a mixed expression. Flipping open his phone, he looked away from Alisha and all she could do was giggle, getting the hint.

 

“Couldn’t have called at a better time than now, hm?”

 

There was audible stuttering on the phone and laughed softly, reassuring the other individual. 

 

“It’s fine. What did you...oh. Yeah. I’m almost about to head home. Passed by Marlind’s Cafe to pick up Dezel. Want anything...yeah. You’re right. Don’t want you hyped on caffeine tonight....Alright. I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

Mikleo snapped his phone shut and turned towards Alisha who was all but smiling at him.

 

“You sure Sorey doesn’t want anything?” She asked, teasingly.

 

Mikleo sighed. “Gawd, I can hear your implications, Alisha...no. And, shoot, sorry, I didn’t even ask if you could bring Dezel along with us when you drop me back home.”

 

She laughed and shook her head. “Of course, I don’t mind. Is he ready to go?”

 

Mikleo turned to the other man who seemed lost in his headphones. He shrugged.

 

“I’m sure he will be once we say we’re leaving. I’ll go get him.”

 

As soon as Mikleo turned away, Alisha immediately went to the counter and flagged Rose over, who came almost bounding to the counter, a smirk on her face.

 

“And what do I have the honor of serving the princess, suddenly?”

 

Alisha shushed her and gave her a serious expression. “What time do you need the performers to check in by Friday?”

 

Rose smiled. “Glad to hear you on board.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep telling myself I'd write a little shorter with each chapter but oops this came out longer than I planned.  
> No Edna, Eizen, or Zaveid this time around? They're coming again soon. I love them too much.  
> And to be honest, I have this odd headcanon that Alisha and Mikleo can sing. And Alisha being oddly brave enough to step up to the plate for some reason...hm. Chapter things to come.
> 
> Thanks guys for being so patient! ARG. hope i don't procrastinate this upcoming time again whoops


End file.
